The PAS group in the Chisinau Municipal Council and the party’s youth organization seek the resumption of public transport services during the night hours and also differentiated ticket prices to compensate the trolleybus company RTEC for the low passenger numbers after 11:00 PM.
“With the halt of night-time public transport services, a significant part of young people, who generally don’t have much money, face a dilemma – whether to give up their late night jobs or pay for an expensive ride home. Moreover, people working late hours, too, have little choice but call a taxi, which are quite expensive”, argues PAS councilor Dumitru Ivanov.
According to him, owl service is a common practice in big cities. “There are cities where local governments offer services so that residents can get home regardless of the time. For example, in cities such as Copenhagen and Berlin, 24-hour transportation is provided”.
Costel Bocancea, vice president of PAS Youth Chișinău, recalled that transport services until 1:00AM had been available in Chisinau on a very limited number of trolleybus routes since 2016, but they were canceled as the pandemic hit.
The PAS councilors suggest owl service could be resumed now that coronavirus cases have subsided in Chisinau, while the number of public transport vehicles has increased over the last two years.