Which "Gazel" Vehicles Will Be Banned From Operation? Government's New Decision

The government has made amendments and additions to a previously adopted decision during its meeting today, aimed at ensuring the uninterrupted execution of intercommunity regular passenger transport in Yerevan.

According to the relevant decision, the operation of buses (minibuses) that have reached 10 years of age in the regular transport routes of Yerevan will be prohibited starting from June 1, 2022, and they will be subject to mandatory replacement.

As a result, from the specified date, the operation of certain vehicles in the regular intercommunity transport routes of Yerevan will be banned, including 249 units of the "Higer" brand released in 2011, 19 units of the "Hyundai" brand released in 2010-2011, 91 buses of the "Bogdan" and "PAZ" brands released between 2005 and 2009, as well as approximately 750 minibuses (including 140 minibuses released in 2006, classified as older than 15 years, from January 1, 2022).

In the case of the prohibition of the operation of these vehicles, significant issues are expected to arise in the organization of regular passenger transport in Yerevan, putting the entire process of regular passenger transport in the capital on the verge of failure.

To avoid disrupting the process of regular passenger transport in the capital and to ensure the uninterrupted service of citizens, the proposed amendment suggests extending the service life of the buses by an additional 3 years until the acquisition of new vehicles (buses, trolleybuses), the final completion of the public transport fleet in the capital, and the implementation of the new route network of Yerevan's public transport.

As a result, it will be possible to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the established transport routes in Yerevan, until the renewal of the transport fleet in accordance with competitive requirements and the transport service of the citizens.