Minibus route administrators demand increasing fare to 4 lei

Fourteen administrators of Chisinau minibus routes sent a letter to the municipal authorities, requesting that the minibus fare be raised to 4 lei, Info-Prim Neo reports. In the April 17 meeting of Chisinau City Hall officials, Adrian Boldurescu, the head of the General Public Transport and Communications Division, said that the administrators’ request is to be examined by the Finance Division and will be then discussed within the relevant commissions. In parallel, the Transport Division and a team of the Traffic Police are daily carrying out inspections. “During a month and a half, there were drawn up 268 reports, 18% of which concern the neglecting of the red color of the stoplights,” said Adrian Boldurescu. “The traffic situation is difficult. Things cannot go on like this. It is a matter of principle. The carriers and the passengers should make a plenary commitment. The carriers that do not obey the rules should be punished,” Mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca said in this connection. He stated that an agreement should be signed between the route administrators and the Transport Division, whereby the carriers will assume responsibility to obey the traffic rules and stop only at stations. Early in March, a number of minibus owners and drivers said they will stop work because they sustain losses following the rise in fuel prices. They demanded increasing the fare to 7 lei so that they could cover all the costs and make profit. The mayor said then that the fare cannot be higher than 5 lei.