Armenian Consumers Association President Armen Poghosyan considers humiliating, that in the 21st century a person is traveling through a transport we are currently traveling by. According to him, a child who travels with a bent back in the transport today cannot be a dignified citizen of Armenia tomorrow. Armen Poghosyan and Zaruhi Batoyan, a member of the Yerevan “Yelq” faction, spoke about transport issues in Yerevan. A British company was invited and 840,000 euros was paid. The result is 1.5 kilograms of paper, which I was provided, where I do not see any rational step”, said Armen Poghosyan.
He has tried to meet with the British company representative for several times to present his concerns and remarks. They said, “The British hurries to London”. There are also Armenian specialists in the group, but Armen Poghosyan did not manage to meet them either.
Armen Poghosyan thinks that legal-contractual forms should be reviewed. PJSC should be restructured, where both city authorities and owners will have their shares. Thus, according to him, the sides will be keen to improve quality.
Zaruhi Batoyan touched upon transport problems of people with special needs. There are 668 buses in the capital, and lifts have been installed on 25 of them over the past 2-3 years, but only 7 function now. Zaruhi Batoyan was assured that from September all 25 will function. In 3 of the 41 bus routes we have buses adapted for the people with special needs. Taxis are not adapted at all: there is only one such taxi in Yerevan. Zaruhi Batoyan also mentioned the absence of timetables, inaccessibility of the bus stops, frequent absence of bus stop cabins.
On July 24, Zaruhi Batoyan presented these issues to Taron Margaryan during a working discussion at the municipality. She proposed to adjust at least 50 buses a year to meet the needs of the disabled. In that case, at least 30 percent of the issue will be solved in the coming years. The money is not astronomical: 4 million drams are needed for one elevator. In other words, it is about 200 million. If you see how much money is being spent and what it is being spent on, you will see that it is not much”.
She also raised the question for organizing trainings for drivers, informing them about the transportation issues for disabled, and the technical service issues related to the transport lifts.
Nelly GRIGORYAN
