Passenger bus carriers are considering the possibility of protests due to dissatisfaction with the management policy of the industry, which leads to a deterioration in the quality of regional transport services, writes Diena.
This year, the Ministry of Transport plans to allocate an additional 9.19 million euros to maintain existing bus routes in the regions and comply with the terms of signed contracts, but industry representatives believe that this amount does not cover last year's losses and forces them to operate at a loss again.
This year, 52.8 million euros have been allocated for state-subsidized regional bus transport. The Ministry does not deny that the situation in this area is complex and significantly different from what it was at the time of organizing procurements and submitting proposals. The fact is that costs have increased, and about 50% of total costs consist of employee salaries, fuel expenses, and bus depreciation. Contracts also include price indexation for services. The impact of indexation on the state budget expenses was preliminarily estimated at 1.2 million euros last year, this year it may reach 3.3 million, and next year - 3.8 million euros.
In the coming years, reimbursable expenses will increase, but the state budget base does not provide funds to cover them either this year or in the next two years. The Ministry reminds that 2026 should be viewed as a transitional period, as it is planned to revise the decisions and principles of organizing the regional public transport route network in the future, especially in sparsely populated areas. Additionally, from this year, a public transport planning tool will be implemented to help develop routes more effectively, as well as passenger counters in buses to collect data on the number of people using these services.
On December 19 of last year, the Public Transport Council postponed the issue of introducing the route network for 2026, as the Road Transport Directorate is still continuing consultations with local governments and carriers.
