The carriers intend to continue their protests. They do not support the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development’s proposal providing that higher passenger transport fares will be introduced with the consent of councils of local public authorities. “This proposal means only that carriers will continue to protest,” the chairman of the Board of the Employers Association of Road Transport Operators Oleg Alexa stated in a news conference at IPN.
The proposal stipulates two types of tariffs: for district transport services and for inter-district transport services. Even if the bill provides that the tariff can rise from the current tariff of 0.60 lei/km to 1 leu/km per passenger after March 1, this is not so in reality, said Oleg Alexa.
He noted that by this bill, Minister Andrei Spînu tries to shift responsibility for the rise in tariffs from the Ministry onto the local public authorities. The document provides that the carriers will be able to raise the tariff on condition that the local council of the settlement from where the route is operated gives its consent. A number of questions as to the application of this formula appear.
The Road Transport Code says the Ministry calculates and applies the tariffs for transport services and bus station services. The Ministry does not set a range of tariffs that could be applied depending on the will of the local public administration. “It means that the carriers will have to go to the mayor’s office, to file and application that will be either accepted or rejected, or the local authorities will accept a lower rise in tariffs,” said the chairman of the Board of the Employers Association of Road Transport Operators, wondering who will do the calculations in mayor’s offices, primarily where there are no experts in the field.
“This is not a viable mechanism. It is a mechanism showing that the minister admits that the tariff should rise, but does not want to put his signature on this decision,” stated Oleg Alexa. He noted that after the last protest mounted by carriers, he was informed that drivers who took part in the protest were stopped on the road by patrol officers and these drew up reports against them. This is a form of persecuting drivers.
In November, the carriers protested in front of the Government Building, demanding to increase the tariff to 1.20 lei/km. Then, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spînu said the operators’ demand to double the tariffs was unjustified. He noted that as long as the carriers do not invest in the modernization of units of transport, a rise in tariffs is out of the question. Later, the Ministry presented a proposal, saying transport operators will be able to set higher tariffs for road passenger transport services with the approval of the local public authorities.
