Transport operators, in a letter to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, ask to provide real calculations of the tariffs for transport services and bus station services. If the authorities do not take clear and attainable measures for solving pressing problems faced in the field, they will not stop the corruption processes, while the carriers, in protest, will suspend regular routes, IPN reports.

The letter is addressed to Minister Andrei Spînu, being signed by the Employers Association of Road Transport Operators. The letter says that for the fourth month already, the operators that serve regular national routes cannot reach a compromise with the Ministry as to the size of the tariffs for transport services and bus station services.

“The provisions of the legislation that defends the rights of carriers and obliges the Ministry of Infrastructure to apply a tariff based on real calculations are violated and ignored in a cynic way by the Ministry,” said the operators, noting they are close to bankruptcy as they can no longer cover their costs. In some of the localities, all the routes were stopped.

The carriers consider the Ministry has sufficient instruments to reduce the burden that will be borne by the passengers, but does not have will and competence. As a result, the passengers will either pay higher fares or will be deprived of public transport, runs the letter.

In a reaction, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development said the message of a narrow group of operators that exert public pressure before a final decision about the tariffs for passenger transportation by district and inter-district routes is to be taken is unconstructive. The dialogue remains a solution and this should be held without causing fear among those who use public transport services and without pressure on the Ministry, which defends the interests of people. “We do not agree with the actions of those who, even if they represent a small part of operators, contribute, with or without political influence, to destabilizing the situation in passenger transport,” the Ministry noted in a press release.