Why Transportation is Not Functioning Well: The City Hall Responds

In Yerevan, disruptions in public transportation are mainly related to the holiday season. This was stated by the press service of the city hall in response to citizens' complaints about recent delays in transportation.

During the summer, passenger flow decreases, and bus drivers tend to organize their vacations during this time. At the same time, as confirmed by the city hall, drivers mostly take short vacations that can last only a few days.

“Naturally, not everyone goes on vacation at the same time; usually only 2-3 out of 15 drivers are absent. The buses also operate according to a predetermined schedule. We understand that even the absence of two transport vehicles can cause inconvenience to citizens, but drivers are not robots and need their rest,” the press service stated.

The city hall did not hide that there are issues with importing spare parts for old buses, which is why the number of vehicles on certain routes has been reduced. However, they noted that there are not many non-operational buses, and the issue will be resolved in the near future.

“The transportation issue is a priority for the city authorities and personally for the mayor. We are trying to address this issue step by step,” assured the city hall.

It is worth noting that the Yerevan city hall announced last year about large-scale reforms in transportation, during which they plan to eliminate minibuses, introduce new types of buses, and implement a unified ticketing system. As part of these reforms, 311 buses were acquired in 2021. The city authorities have already signed a contract to purchase 87 German MAN brand (12-meter) buses. In addition, the competition for purchasing 150 new buses has been completed. The city hall also intends to purchase 30 new trolleybuses using community funds.