Moldovan carriers threaten to stop regular routes in early February

Chisinau, 28 January /MOLDPRES/- Employers' Association of Transport Operators (APOTA) has sent an open letter on behalf of Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, according to which, the carriers threaten that in protest, they will stop the activity on regular routes in early February, if the ministry does not comply with the previously announced requirements - increase in travel fares.

"Most carriers are on the verge of bankruptcy. Costs can no longer be covered by receipts. In all districts of the country there are routes that are no longer operated, and their number is increasing. We already have localities from which all routes have been stopped. The population of these localities travels by taxis or illegal transport and pays much more than they would have paid if the tariff had been increased by MIDR based on real calculations ", the letter reads.

APOTA notes that if the ministry does not present in real time the actual calculations of the tariff for transport services and the tariff for bus services, it will not come up with clear and achievable measures to solve the acute problems in the branch, then in early February carriers will stop operating on regular routes in protest.

Carriers' protests began in November 2021, and were held in December.

Then Spinu came up with a reaction, in which he stressed that one of his main concerns is that “people benefit from safe, convenient and affordable transport services, and the price paid for services to be fair and in line with current realities" and called for cooperation.