Yerevan city authorities have temporarily removed the bill on public transportation reforms amid strong backlash against the drastic increase in fares. The tariff change is just one of the components of the ongoing public transportation reforms, an issue that’s been a priority for local authorities for several years now.
If approved on the initially proposed rates, passengers will have to pay almost three times higher than current prices, based on their choice of payment plan. Residents will be able to choose daily, weekly, monthly or annual plans.
The local authorities chose September for the beginning of the rate increase as it coincides with the arrival of 171 new 8-meter and 6-meter buses. “The tender is currently underway,” Deputy Mayor Suren Grigoryan stated.
The weekly ticket will cost approximately $12 and be valid for 30 travels. The longer the period purchased, the cheaper the ticket would be.
A one-month ticket will cost around $20 and be valid for 60 travels. The 90 days will be worth over $60, the package is designed to use public transport 180 times. The yearly package will cost $270.
In neighboring Georgia, passengers can get an annual travel pass for Tbilisi for just $100.
The bill was met with criticism in the city hall and by opposition. The ruling party was reminded of 2013 protests, when they, as opposition demanded not to increase the transport fares from $0.20 to $0.30
“Unified transport” system
The Armenian government and municipal authorities have long prioritized the reforms of the city’s public transport, as the soviet-era buses and small “marshrutkas” were not enough to serve the city of over 1 million, with tens of thousands arriving to the city from neighboring towns.
The first and so far the only finalized step towards reformed transport in Yerevan is the replacement of all of the old buses and marshrutkas with new ones. While the number of currently operating buses is less than before, the authorities expect to order new ones in the near future.
The unified public transport system is one of the plans the local authorities have tried to implement for years. The plan is to make the travel and change of transport in the city cheaper and easier for the passengers as well as introduce ticketed trips, gradually getting rid of the requirement to use coins or giving the money to the driver. The buses already have the necessary gadgets to be able to scan the QR code or pay by card.
Unfulfilled promises of new metro stations and a cable car
The most ambitious plan in the overall reform package, aimed at tackling the city’s transport and traffic problems, was the construction of a new metro station and cable car in Yerevan. Part of the metro station in Yerevan’s Ajapnyak district was built during the Soviet times, but the final construction requires over $50 million.
The plans for finishing the Soviet era construction had been on the local authorities’ agenda since the previous government, but the Pashinyan administration made the plans a priority for Yerevan after the 2018 revolution, with the prime minister calling the construction of the metro station a “strategic” project.
The municipal authorities led by ex-Mayor Hayk Marutyan first claimed to be willing to rely on state and municipal budgets to build the stations, but later stepped back and said they’d prefer investments.
Another ambitious plan, which was not widely communicated, was the cable car that was planned to connect the community of Nor Nork in Armenia to the city center. The cable car was later intended to be extended to cover other areas of the capital. The fate of the cable car remains more uncertain than that of the Ajapnyak metro station.
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