site.btaAmerican, German Chambers of Commerce in Bulgaria Hold Forum on Public Transit Challenges

The American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria and the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce organized a roundtable to discuss the potential of the forthcoming law on public transport Bulgaria to address the challenges in public transport and propose solutions for a fair and competitive transport system. The event, which took place on March 27, attracted representatives of the sector, the American Chamber said.

The forum heard the position of the Ministry of Transport and Communications from Deputy Minister Dimitar Nedyalkov, as well as the opinions of representatives of some of the sub-sectors, such as rail transport, bus transport, and logistics. The event was opened by Sonja Miekley, General Manager at the German-Bulgarian Chamber, and the session was moderated by Ivan Mihaylov, CEO of AmCham Bulgaria, who also made the closing remarks. The German experience in the liberalization of the long-distance bus sector was presented by German Ambassador Irene Maria Plank.

The participants concurred on the need for more effective legislation, digitisation of transport services, and better coordination between stakeholders to achieve affordable and sustainable mobility.

Businesses agreed that opening up the market would improve passenger convenience and reduce the need for government subsidies as the entry of more private companies would ease the financial burden on the government, AmCham Bulgaria said. From a macroeconomic perspective, competitiveness in any market, including the transportation market, will lead to lower prices, technological advances, and new products and services, participants noted. Passenger transport reform is particularly important given the social dimensions, as many Bulgarian localities lack intercity transport services.

The American and German Chambers expressed hope that they will be active participants in the discussion on the forthcoming Public Transport Act in Bulgaria.