Hellish traffic on Eminescu Street from Chisinau

Minibus drivers, passengers and auto drivers as well are outraged by the modifications made by the Chisinau officials, which have shifted the routes of 11 minibuses from Puskin Street to Eminescu Street. As a result of the changes, the minibuses are forced to travel side by side along with other vehicles, and the section between Bucuresti Street and Stefan cel Mare Boulevard, with a length of 400-500 m, is crossed in 15-20 minutes, due to which many passengers choose to travel by foot. Several minibus drivers from different routes have told the Info-Prim Neo reporter that the Chisinau public authorities act without analyzing the situation, implement irrational ideas and act out of impulse. They claim the approximately 3000 vehicles from 11 routes have been redirected to Eminescu Street, and together with the private cars these vehicles make the traffic on this street hellish. Moreover, the cited sources claim that the change has not affected the traffic from Puskin Street, as the street was instantly crowded by private traffic that previously run on parallel streets in order to avoid traffic. Requested by IPN, the president of the Private transport association, Ion Mamaliga, declared that after 4 days the change has proven itself as irrational and against the interests of the transporters and the passengers. Furthermore, the cited source claims that the public transport was even more affected by the private transport from Puskin Street, and at the moment this street is much more crowded than before September 1. Mamaliga believes that an extensive study of the problem was necessary before doing the change, followed by the redirection of 3-4 routes in order to analyze the results. In reality the 11 routes have all been redirected at once, including the no. 11 route coming from 31 August Street, another crowded street. In a ridiculous situation is the route no. 124, that in order to turn from Kogalniceanu Street on Sciusev Street, towards Buiucani region, crosses a single block on Eminescu Street, and loses a great amount of time on this small portion, Mamaliga claims. The leader of the private transporters affirms that in the next few days an extensive study of the problem should be undertaken, and this would show the pro’s and con’s of the change, by what amount the number of trolleybus and minibus passengers increased and should analyze the reaction of the citizen bothered by this change. The transporters avowed that the decision about the redirection of the routes from Puskin Street on Eminescu Street from September 1 was signed on the evening of August 30, a violation of the contract with the transporters, which states that any changes to the itineraries of the minibuses should be announced 2 weeks in advance. Moreover, the changes to the routes have ignored other laws, by which the citizens must be announced 5 days in advance, via mass-media, with the changes to the routes.