Minibuses are leaving the town. Analysis by Info-Prim Neo

Despite the popularity of the small-scale public transport among Chisinau passengers, the number of minibuses could shrink to about 700 by the end of the year, because their owners are not hurrying to buy new vehicles to replace the re-equipped ones, Ion Mamaliga, president of the Private Carriers Association told Info-Prim Neo. This means that by the start of the next year, Chisinau will be serviced by just about one third of the minivans (also known as maxi-cabs) that were earlier running in the city. That is because the authorities plan to exclude the re-equipped transport altogether by the second half of the year. As of July 1, only 1,250 minibuses were operating in the capital city, which is by 750 fewer than at the end of last year. [In the fall we’ll see it all] Because during the summer season the number of passengers is significantly decreasing, the average resident doesn’t feel yet the reduction in the number of maxi-cabs. However, starting on September 1, their shortage will be deeply sensed, and from 1 January 2008, the situation in the public transport could become disastrous, forecasts Mamaliga. On 1 January 2007, there were excluded from circulation the re-equipped vans manufactured in 1991, on May 1- those made in ’92, and on July 1 – in ’94. Only 10% of the vehicles made in 1993 were replaced by new ones, while the owners asked for a postponement of the replacement in every fourth case. Mamaliga says that the authorities are willing to postpone the term for the replacement of the ’93-made vehicles until the autumn compulsory overhaul. The Government plans to withdraw from operation some 60 re-equipped minibuses more, which exceeded the operation term of 15 years established by the local authorities. At the same time, says Mamaliga, the governmental decision recommending the 15-year restriction has recently been quashed by the Guillotine 1, that is why the local authorities should also reconsider their acts, because nowhere in the world are the local authorities banning public transport units from operating as long as they meets all the technical requirements. The previous local authorities however insisted on their rights to impose restrictions, considering that by doing so, they keep the minibuses in good condition. [No guarantees for investments in transport] The owners of re-equipped vans are not hurrying to replace them by new vehicles, because the government fails to assure the owners that the situation in the area of transport will not change overnight. Moreover, minibuses have almost doubled in price over the past year, with the price of a second-hand passenger van reaching 22,000 euros and that of a brand new one – 10,000 euros. That is why the owners of minibuses in Chisinau replaced only 10-15% of them. In addition, says Mamaliga, the registration procedure for minibuses has become very hard lately, arousing suspicion that these obstacles are artificially created by the authorities “to discourage people from continuing to bring cars in”. While midsize cars for instance are registered in several hours, it takes van owners 2-6 months for the same procedure. “All the authorities’ moves reveal their interest in seeing the minibuses out of the market”, Mamaliga says. He thinks that newcomers are keen to enter the city transport market after the older carriers would eventually be obliged to give up their licences and the authorities – to look for new ones to close the gap. The routes no. 128 and 183 already disappeared from the city, with the routes no. 193 and 152, as well as other minibus routes, heading the same way. Although the development of the city transport presupposes the emergence of new players on the market, Ion Mamaliga thinks that the authorities must play fair, in a transparent manner, and to precisely establish the costs of the services. This will certainly encourage the carriers, who will regain their trust and assume certain risks to find money for new investments. Despite the year-long protests by Chisinau minibus owners against the intention to withdraw re-equipped maxi-cabs from operation, the authorities are unyielding, explaining that the bus and trolley fleets have been renewed in the last two years, and insisting that the exclusion of minibuses will not trouble the residents.