The managers of municipal routes calculated the cost of a trip by minibus at 10 lei. In a letter to the mayor of Chisinau and the General Public Transport and Communications Division, 14 transport operators say the situation is disastrous and, of the 1,950 minibuses that ran on routes in 2014, only 780 remained at present, IPN reports.

The letter notes that a meeting with minibus route mangers of Chisinau was held on December 19. In a new meeting on December 24, it was decided to inform the municipal authorities about the created situation. Owing to irresponsibility (it is not noted whose, e.n.), a number of routes were closed, while others will be yet closed. The shortage of drivers is another pressing problem. Only 60-70% of the necessary number of minibuses are now on routes.

The carriers say the losses in the case of buses and minibuses are compensated with funds from the municipal budget. However, under the anti-monopoly law, the minibus owners should also get such compensation. The fare on interurban routes was raised as of January 1, after being the same for six years, since 2013. The current fares on urban routes were set 14 years ago, in 2006.

According to the calculations done by carriers, the cost of a trip by minibus was 6 lei in 2014, 8 lei in 2015 and rose to 10 lei at present. The operators are ready to take part in the examination of fares and in debates in the Chisinau Municipal Council.  

Contacted by IPN for a comment, deputy head of the General Public Transport and Communications Division Lilian Copaci said the letter was received, but this is not accompanied by financially justified calculations so that they could thoroughly analyze the request. The transport operators will be asked to provide additional information. The fares are raised by the CMC by a relevant decision. In the absence of such a decision, the fares will remain unchanged.

A trip by minibus in Chisinau now costs 3 lei, by bus also 3 lei, while by trolleybus 2 lei.