At least 25 public transport routes have been closed in Bishkek, because drivers quit. The head of the City Transport Department of the capital, Nurlan Atykanov, said in an interview with Birinchi radio.
According to him, there is an acute shortage of public transport drivers in Bishkek, in particular of minibuses.
«Drivers quit, because they are not satisfied with the revenue, there is no profitability. Those who are still working have a large passenger flow, so they keep going. We did not specifically close certain routes, as many people think,» Nurlan Atykanov stressed.
The official noted that 2,600 minibuses served the routes daily a few years ago, and today, due to a shortage of drivers and vehicles, there are about 1,500 of them.