Video: Public Transport in Yerevan Is Not Functioning Well, Resulting in Accidents and Fatalities, Expert

Since the second quarter of 2018, there has been a sharp increase in road traffic accidents by 25 percent. This trend continues this year, according to economist and insurance expert Andranik Ohanyan in a conversation with Tert.am.

According to him, data from the first five months of 2019 indicates a 26-27 percent increase in road traffic accidents.

Ohanyan does not believe that there is a question of police inaction regarding these statistical data. “If we consider the issue in three parts, there is some blame on the part of political authorities because after the change of government, the fines for reckless drivers were largely revoked, and there was much talk about removing speed cameras and recording devices from operation. As a result, we saw a sharp increase in accidents,” he noted.

“The second issue is related to the municipal authorities. It involves the public transport issue. There has been no improvement in this area, resulting in very high traffic intensity in the city, which has led to an increase in the number of accidents and fatalities. Third, regarding the traffic police, I believe it is unnecessary to blame them because they are carrying out their work,” he added.

When asked what specifically municipal authorities and the police should do to address the issue and reduce the number of road traffic accidents, Ohanyan stated that primarily a new transport system should be implemented to relieve congestion. “In Yerevan, it is not the number of cars that has increased, but the intensity of their operation has gone up. For example, every day 100 people need to get from a certain neighborhood in Yerevan to the center for work. If we have public transport and large buses, say with 100 seats, only one transport vehicle would participate in traffic to meet that demand. If those 100 people were transported with 25-seat buses, then four vehicles would be needed. If this is not in place, the 100 people will have to use either personal cars or taxi services. In other words, 100 transport vehicles must be operated and participate in traffic. This is the problem: there is no public transport, resulting in intense traffic, accidents, and fatalities.