«A system that counts passengers has been installed in almost all buses,» the Vice Mayor of Bishkek, Maksatbek Sazykulov, announced at a meeting of the standing commission of the Bishkek City Council for housing and communal services, fuel and energy complex, transport, communications and ecology.
According to him, this measure deprives drivers of the opportunity to hide part of the money that comes from passengers in the form of fares. In addition, the number of transactions (non-cash payment for travel) in public transport has increased almost 25 times.
«When electronic ticketing was introduced, there were 9,700 transactions per day, yesterday — 235,000,» Maksatbek Sazykulov said.
He added that among passengers there are those who ask to be given the right to choose cash payment. «For example, a person uses public transport once or twice a month, so we propose to introduce a differentiated tariff — one-time tickets, and the fare will be higher when paying in cash,» the official noted.
Deputy of the Bishkek City Council Kazybek Ergeshov expressed the opinion that the city authorities are putting pressure on Bishkek residents by differentiated tariffs.
«We force to pay twice as much when paying in cash. This is not motivation, but pressure. Therefore, the City Hall needs to consider this issue differently. In addition, we are creating a loophole for corruption schemes on the part of drivers. When introducing non-cash payment, we initially sought to eliminate contact between the driver and passenger. Previously, they collected 11 soms, but now they will collect twice as much. They will also be more willing to put money in their pocket. We need to eradicate contact with the driver — completely switch to non-cash payment,» he said and called hiring inspectors the right decision.
Chairman of the commission Rysbek Amatov added that the introduction of differentiated tariffs could lead to an outflow of passengers from municipal transport to private one. «It is proposed to raise the fare for buses and trolleybuses to 25 soms when paying in cash, but at the same time 15 soms will be the fare in minibuses. People will then start choosing minibuses. There is a flaw. We will transfer people from municipal transport to private minibuses,» he noted.
A draft resolution on the introduction of a differentiated tariff for travel has been submitted to the Bishkek City Council. It implies that the fare will be higher when paying in cash. The document has been posted for public discussion.
