site.bta National Transport Scheme Review Due within Three Months - Transport Minister

National Transport Scheme Review Due within Three Months - Transport Minister

Sofia, April 18 (BTA) - After a meeting with representatives of the National Association of Bus Hauliers (NABH) on Monday, Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski said the national transport scheme would be reviewed and streamlined within three months. All routes, destinations and pick-up points are due for a review, he said.

Moskovski said his Ministry and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences had elaborated a mathematical model of a transport scheme, which will be discussed with NABH. "The model offers the right solutions but we have to adapt it to the reality," said Moskovski, adding that the regional and municipal transport schemes should be adjusted to the national one, not vice versa.

The sides also discussed the introduction of the toll system. Moskovski said it is the most fair way of collecting charges because bus transport is the only transport sector where charges for service provision are not cost-oriented.

Bus companies have threatened to stage a protest in Sofia on April 26 over the system's planned introduction. Regional Development Minister Liliyana Pavlova said on April 11 that bus operators would indeed be paying more once the toll system became operational, but it is the government's aim to secure resources for better roads. She added that the road toll would be strictly linked to the distance covered by the vehicles.

Moskovski and the Association members agreed that a temporary moratorium would be imposed on public procurement contracts for bus services between municipalities. The Transport Minister said the law was skirted in many places now and certain companies were directly awarded contracts. "Each municipality is obliged to award transport service contracts through procedures conforming to the Public Procurement Act," he said.