Development expert Roman Guneavyi said that even if the public transport fares in Chisinau were adjusted, the revenues of the Electric Transport Company and the Urban Bus Company rose insignificantly, by only 23%. As the fare is the same and season tickets are common for trolleybuses and buses, it is not clear how the revenues are distributed between the two municipal companies.
In a news conference at IPN, Roman Guneavyi said the methodology for calculating the fare in municipal public transport was approved recently. This was a solution for excluding the fare politicization factor. The document stipulates the reference value of the fare, which is related to the average salary of a resident of Chisinau. Respectively, when this indicator increases, the municipality will be able to adjust the fare. Moreover, he supported the methodology because its stipulates substantial differences between the fare, which is of 6 lei, and the price of season tickets so as to stimulate the purchase of season tickets.
However, according to Roman Guneavyi, the content of the methodology that was discussed also with experts and the content of the approved document differ considerably and that reference fare is no longer specified there. The expert doesn’t doubt the quality and correctness of the changes, but it is not clear why the municipality ignored the procedures required to ensure a transparent process.
“The City Hall started to optimize the road network. It is surprising as the basic parameters were actually reduced. On the one hand, we say that we annually increase the investments in the renewal and purchase of units of transport. However, we decrease their number on routes. Also, we increase the price of travel in order to save the companies from bankruptcy, but ultimately diminish the number of buses on routes. What will we replace them with if we do not want to lose the flow of passengers? The City Hall should provide explanations,” stated the expert.
According to him, together with the increase in fares, the revenues of the Electric Transport Company and the Urban Bus Company grew by only 23%, which is insignificant. One of the solutions to support the municipal companies is for the City Hall, which fully covers the losses for the residents from the suburban settlements too, to ask for co-financing from the suburban mayor’s offices as these have their own budgets and incomes.
The way in which the revenues between the two companies, which are separate legal entities, while the fares and prices of season tickets are common, are distributed is unclear. “It is not clear how the revenues from the sale of season tickets, which are widely promoted, are distributed. The City Hall should shed light and should explain why the parameters were changed only for the Urban Bus Company, not yet for the Electric Transport Company,” stated Roman Guneavyi.
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