VIDEO: "One bus can accommodate as many people as 60 cars," Avinyan

Paying 12,000 to 13,000 drams monthly for parking will certainly hit citizens' pockets. This was stated on December 26 during the session of the Yerevan City Council by Aram Torosyan, a member of the council's "National Progressive" faction, addressing the proposal to raise the annual parking fee in the central administrative district of Yerevan from 12,000 to 160,000 drams.

"I personally would love to drive from the suburbs to the center, but how can I when the public transport is already full? You haven't practically seen what's happening; why are you rushing? For example, a good parking area could be organized next to the 'Hrazdan' stadium. Our residents love to walk, and they can walk through the Hrazdan gorge to get to the center. But you say the Hrazdan gorge tunnel is dirty and smells. Why are you starting with the easy option? A systematic solution must be provided. We are completely against this bill," Torosyan said, urging others not to register for the vote so the proposal does not pass.

In response, Mayor Tigran Avinyan stated that systemic changes require difficult decisions, and this is one of them: "Next year, we will have about 200 new buses, the first 30 of which will be arriving in January. There will be additional bus routes, and additional parking spaces, four of which are already planned in various locations. There will be a unified ticketing system; this is already implemented in 660 buses, and we will discuss the system's implementation at the beginning of next year. How do you feel driving through the center of Yerevan during peak hours? We need to reduce the number of individual cars in Yerevan’s center significantly. One of our buses can accommodate as many people as 60 cars. This decision will not be sufficient for complete decongestion. We will move on to discussions about new restrictions," Avinyan said.

Aram Torosyan expressed confidence that the number of cars in the center of Yerevan will not decrease; they will simply pay more.