site.btaSofia Deputy Mayor: Wages in Sofia's Public Transport Have Increased by 150% from 2018 to 2024

Wages in Sofia's public transport have increased by 150% from 2018 to 2024, said Sofia Deputy Mayor for Finance Ivan Vasilev in a position by the press centre of Sofia Municipality on Thursday.

Vasilev added that drivers in public transport have decreased by 19% in these years, pointing out that a targeted policy is needed to attract new drivers. He stated that increasing salaries for all those employed in public transportation does not yield results and called for a debate on the real problems of the sector and finding solutions, as there is a shortage of 250 drivers in road transport and a shortage of 100 drivers in electric transport. This is the reason why there is a great overload, and there is administrative chaos due to the presence of four separate companies in Sofia's public transportation and an unnecessarily bloated administration. "The decisions are clear, but require political will for consensus," Vasilev said.

His statement came as a reaction to the protests, which stopped public transport in Sofia on Wednesday and continued on Thursday. The demonstration is held under the slogan “Decent Work – Decent Pay! No Transport, No Economy!” Their demands are for an increase in wages by at least 15%.

Vasilev stressed that the Sofia Municipality will propose to direct money where it will be most effective, namely to bonuses for attracting new employees and to salary increases of newly hired employees. This will relieve all drivers and give them the necessary time to rest regularly and use their paid leave, the deputy mayor noted. "If we direct the planned BGN 17 million more this year for such measures, I believe that we will achieve results in the coming months and years," he emphasized.

He stated that the Municipality is preparing an investment loan to finance the purchase of 120 new buses, 75 trolleybuses and 58 trams, stressing however that there is not enough money in the budget, which is why the municipal administration will propose an investment loan for public discussion. "I believe it will be supported by the Municipal Council, and we will be able to modernize public transport," Vasilev commented, pointing out that this will improve conditions for both drivers and passengers in public transport, with the hope that it will become an increasingly preferred means of transport in the capital.

He emphasized that they are also considering merging the four public transport companies into a unified transport operator, which will optimize the unnecessarily bloated administration, where 700 people are performing similar activities across four companies.