Facebook post by Sona Aghekyan, a member of the “Mother Armenia” bloc: “Fare hike: reform or manipulation? The collapse of the authorities’ arguments. The 2.5-unit city government of Yerevan decided to triple the public transport fare, from 100 drams to 300, and under pressure they were forced to also set a fare of 150 drams. Various arguments are presented to justify the decision to increase the price, which, however, upon closer examination, resemble manipulation more than an economic or urban development program. The main question is whether these “reforms” really justify the additional burden placed on passengers, or is it just another money-grabbing scheme?
1. Modernization of transport vehicles: at whose expense
The authorities claim that the old Gazelles, RAFs, Yeraz and other small-capacity vehicles have been replaced by new, more comfortable buses. However, the question is whether this justifies the increase in fares. If the previously purchased vehicles were bad or prematurely out of service, then those who made these purchases should be held accountable for this, not the citizens. Modernization of public transport should be a natural process of city development, not a reason to “punish” passengers. Raising fares for the sake of having new buses is as absurd as, for example, a hotel raising prices for services when buying new furniture. Public transport, unlike a hotel, has no affordable alternative, and increasing fares leads to more use of private cars, increased traffic jams and increased air pollution.
2. A disciplined driver is not an improvement, but a minimum requirement
The city government of 2.5 points represents,that transport drivers are now well-mannered, do not smoke, do not listen to loud music, do not drive at an impermissible speed. This is commendable, but can it be presented as a serious achievement? All this is an integral part of the normal operation of transport. If all this was previously ignored, then the problem should have been solved through proper control, not by increasing fares.
3. The fairy tale of the fight against the shadow
KP officials say that the shadow in the transport sector will disappear by almost 100%. However, if there was a shadow turnover before, then why has it not been revealed and eliminated until now and why have the creators of the shadow not been held accountable? It turns out that the government has tolerated these corruption schemes for years. If they now promise that the shadow will disappear, it means that it was possible to manage this process without increasing fares. And maybe if the shadow economy were exposed, it would turn out that the budget losses are so great that there would be no need to even raise the fare?
4. Wi-Fi, GPS, privileges - a veil for a price increase
The city government announces that free Wi-Fi and GPS systems have been introduced in public transport. But what value do they have for a citizen for whom transport has become inaccessible due to its price. The presence of Wi-Fi does not contribute to improving the quality of traffic, it is just a small addition that could not become a reason for raising the fare. The presence of GPS is also a normal service, not a reform. Especially when this system is not yet fully working, and the bus arrival time remains the same 35-40 minutes.
5. Price increase without calculation
The authorities have not yet presented a specific calculation that would justify the fare increase. Can the city government showthat 100 drams was not enough, and why was 150-300 drams necessary? Moreover, if as a result of the introduction of the new system, some passengers receive free or discounted fares, it means that other passengers pay for these privileges.
And in that case, isn't it possible that the revenues would remain the same, and there would be no need for a fare increase at all? "This entire process shows that the government, which has not received the vote of Yerevan residents, presents elementary norms as achievements, and justifies the fare increase with changes that do not provide a real qualitative improvement for passengers. If this process were transparent, and passengers saw that the fare increase serves their interests, then perhaps such a change would be acceptable.
However, when the public is simply confronted with the facts, and the presented “reforms” are more of a manipulative nature, then all this cannot be called anything other than another scheme to extract money. After all, the government itself proves that the fare increase is not a reform, but simply a tool to fill the budget.
“Mother Armenia” has submitted a draft fare tariff, under which there are 17 thousand signatures of citizens. Those who did not receive the vote of Yerevan residents are afraid to bring it to the agenda of the Council of Elders and discuss it, because the draft sets the fare for a trolleybus at 50 drams, for a bus,
Metro at 100 drams, pensioners and the disabled are given the right to free travel. This is the real picture in the process of increasing the fare.”
