“The reasoning of the mini bus fare increase, these 16 clauses, no one of them is justified, I’m saying it to you professionally. There is no economical justification for bus and mini bus fare increase”, – commented the former Mayor of Yerevan city Vahagn Khachatryan in the conversation with Aravot.am referring to the decision of fare increase. To our observation that the municipality claims that the price for diesel has become AMD 200 470, that is, there is price increase, lubricating oils have become expensive, as well as spare parts, expenditure have increased, Vahagn Khachatryan replied,- “Stop any driver and ask whether they receive a salary of AMD 200 thousand. But they presented that much in this calculation. Is there that much salary? Naturally, there isn’t, it is AMD 60-70 thousand. The calculations were as following: AMD 106 thousand for current repair of spare parts, but I very much doubts about it, number of tires – I have great doubts. All the numbers here are inflated. This was how they calculated to get to this number. This is for buses. As for mini buses, they do not make 6.5 routes per day, I say, they do 5 routes or less. The calculation that we make with their numbers, it turns out that they transport only 30 passengers per one route. Now, just think, do they really transport 30 passengers from Davitashen district up to 4th district? They have calculated 30 passengers. They have stated that the number of paid passengers per month is 5850, and divided it to given number, if they had divided, let’s say, to 9000, in this case the price per unit would be AMD 118 or less instead of AMD 138. This is simply an act of hooliganism. Because the hooligan has come to the municipal authority, we need also to keep this in mind. This is an act of bunko and hooliganism.” He proposed to do a simple calculation, to get on a mini bus, and calculate how many passengers are transported from one spot to the final destination. “Here is the black money of the owners of the fixed routes, and you know how much it makes, 12-15 thousand dollars per month. It is for one fixed route. The revenues of the owners of the routes from this price increase will be added by 20-30 percent.” Our observation that they say that the quality of service will increase, Vahagn Khachatryan countered,- “There is no problem with the quality of service here. They have included all the risks in the calculation of the fare, even the interest of the loan is included, while the interest of the loan must be deducted from their profit. It is an elementary rule of economics. Do not expect for any economic justification here. This is what we were talking about; the government serves for a group of people who are the owners of the routes, owners of the business. If it is not a good business, and they present it as a hard work, let them remove everyone, and see whether or not another businessman will come. This is the best business in the world.”
Vahagn Khachatryan believes that if the fare for the traffic in a country becomes expensive in 50%, then this country is not a country. “If there really was such a problem to rise, then there should be donation mechanisms. Why do you increase the fare in 50 drams for citizens, the electricity prices go up, gas prices go up, the prices of imported goods go up, the salaries are not increased. On the one hand, they say that they are solving the problem of socially poor, but now it deteriorates more. This is just the situation that we are ignored. We do not exist for them, there is only that hooligan for them, who has brought them to power, and those people who get use of. In case of operating 10 buses, they take 12-15 thousand dollars from one route, there is no such a business with a profitability of 40%.” Vahagn Khachatryan encouraged not believing ‘the tales’ of business entities that as if they have loans and are under hard conditions. “Let them announce an open competition, the price will be 100 drams. With AMD 100 is definitely possible to serve, if they come out of the black business and make not 15 thousand dollars per month, but 3-4 thousand dollars.”
Hripsimeh JEBEJYAN
