site.btaBus Operators Call for Unity But Remain Firmly Opposed to Establishment of Road Transport Chamber

Sofia, July 2 (BTA) - Bus operators who have pressured Prime Minister Boyko Borissov into withdrawing a bill to establish a Road Transport Chamber have urged all national associations in the road passenger transport sector to unite. The idea is to establish a confederation in which membership will be voluntary, National Bus Transport Association (NBTA) President Ivailo Konstantinov told a BTA-hosted news conference on Monday.

Konstantinov noted that the NBTA and other organizations are firmly opposed to the bill to establish a Road Transport Chamber replacing the existing Road Transport Administration. The bill was submitted by large road carriers and supported by the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria, but was eventually withdrawn by the Prime Minister. Konstantinov described the bill as "an attempt by a group of people to privatize bus services." The withdrawn bill proposed that the future Road Transport Chamber should recommend to the Transport Minister which companies should be licensed and exercise control over them, which smacked of lobbyism and corruption, he said.

Konstantinov stressed repeatedly that this is not a personal or sectoral conflict but rather a refusal to accept a situation where "someone wants to have too much money and control." He recalled Prime Minister Borissov's stance that the new law should not become a fact until the stakeholders sort out their differences.

Concerning the EU's Mobility Package 2, the Bulgarian road transport sector is unanimously opposed to the plans for complete liberalization of passenger services. Such liberalization implies that foreign companies should be allowed to operate in Bulgaria, Konstantinov explained. This may seem okay, considering that there will be competition and prices will be optimized, but it will deprive many municipalities of their own carriers, he warned.

The Union of International Carriers and the Bulgarian Association of Road Transport Unions confirmed that they will stage protests on July 4 in favour of establishing a Road Transport Chamber.