In the Republic of Moldova, 135 localities currently have no public transport connection with the district center. After the completion of the local public administration reform, the authorities intend to compel the town halls to ensure the connection of these villages, even in cases where the routes are not economically viable. The announcement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bolea, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, reports IPN.
“There are 135 localities where there is no transport to connect with the district center out of a total of 1682. We are waiting for the final decision of the Parliament when we will know exactly how many town halls we have. We come with the obligation for the local public administration to interconnect all localities,” declared Vladimir Bolea during the “Rezoomat” show on RealitateaTV.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, once the final number of municipalities is established following the Local Public Administration reform, municipalities in localities without public transportation will be obliged to ensure at least one trip per week, even if it will not be economically profitable.
“Even a small village with 400-500 inhabitants, obviously, it will not be able to generate a large number of passengers for the route to be profitable, but there must be transportation once or twice a week. There must be a connection between the village, the commune capital, and the administrative center, that is, the city,” the minister further stated.
According to him, public transportation should be treated as a social service, not solely as a commercial activity. “Public transportation is a social service. When we have a commercial activity, the focus is on profit. And the routes established so far are strictly commercial, that’s why we have localities without transportation. Therefore, these routes should be created by the local public administration,” Vladimir Bolea further stated.
