Moldovan carriers demand increase in travel tariffs

Chisinau, 25 November /MOLDPRES/ - More carriers members of the Employers’ Association of Motor Transport Operators (APOTA) today protested in the centre of Chisinau, demanding the revision of the tariffs for the passenger transport.  

The Association sent an approach to the Infrastructure and Regional Development Ministry (MIDR), thereby asking for the authorities’ intervention and increase in the tariffs for passengers.

For its part, the ministry says that, following more meetings between Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Andrei Spinu, state secretary in the transport sector Mircea Pascaluta and representatives of associations in the field of district and inter-district motor transport, carriers unveiled demands to double or even triple the tariff applicable for the passengers travels – from 1.37 lei/km to 1.85 lei/km.    

„The basic tariff is of 0.6 lei/km/passenger for the vehicles of the class II comfort category and 0.7 lei/km/passenger for the vehicles of the class I comfort category. This price was established in late 2019 and became applicable as of 2020. Starting from the same year, all carriers had right to apply a tariff of 0.7 lei. The increase in the tariff from 2019 (by 0.14 lei for class II or 30 per cent and 0.22 lei – class I or 45 per cent) had the goal to motivate the carriers to invest in the park of vehicles and ensure a level of safety and comfort adequate for the passenger transport. The compulsoriness to pass the procedure of comfort classification was established to this end too,’’ the Infrastructure Ministry said.     

In the context, MIDR noted that ‘’almost 80 per cent of the buses involved in the passenger transport have an age of over 16 years. Only 3.2 per cent of the vehicles involved in the passenger transport have an age of up to 10 years. Forty five per cent of the vehicles, almost a half of all passenger transport, have an age of more than 20 years.’’    

The ministry also said that ‘’it works for the elaboration of new tariff policies, meant to ensure the optimization of the regular passenger transport services and combating the illicit transport of passengers, including the clear-cut regulation of the tariffs applied to the bus terminals’ services.’’ Among them, there is the implementation of the integrated management system 9-Ticket, e-Monitoring GPS, e-Autotest and working out of a national programme on the renewal of the park of buses/coaches involved in the servicing of the regular services in national traffic, etc.  

“As minister in charge of the transports sector, one of my principal concerns is that the people benefit from services of safe, comfortable and accessible transport and the price paid for the transport services should be fair and meet the current realities. In the discussion on tariffs, we cannot ignore the need for the carriers to invest much more seriously in the vehicles’ modernization, just as the law stipulates. I observe the carriers’ right to protest and I assure them, just as so far, that I remain open for dialogue, in order to find a solution in the interest of everybody as regards the tariffs,’’ Deputy Prime Minister, Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Andrei Spinu said in his today’s message to the group of carriers and citizens.