Transport operators violate schedules: Voznesensk City Council explains why there are problems with transport

Problems with public transport continue in Voznesensk, screenshot from a report by Suspilne Mykolaiv

In Voznesensk, public transport is running intermittently due to a shortage of drivers and carriers' failure to adhere to schedules.

This was reported by the executive committee of the Voznesensk City Council in response to an information request from NikVesti.

As is known, problems with public transport have been ongoing in Voznesensk for about two months: private carriers are not putting buses on routes, and residents are only informed about this after the fact.

In particular, in response to the information request, it was reported that carriers had committed violations, namely «irregular bus departures» on routes and failure to comply with approved traffic patterns.

«The carrier was found to have violated the terms of passenger transport services, which consisted of non-compliance with approved routes and irregular bus departures according to the established schedule. These violations had a negative impact on the stability of transport connections and the quality of passenger service,» the statement said.

Problems with public transport continue in Voznesensk, screenshot from a report by Suspilne Mykolaiv

They added that official written appeals were sent to the carrier due to the violations identified.

«In connection with the identified violations, official written requests were repeatedly sent to the carrier demanding a reasonable explanation for the reasons for the situation, as well as to take appropriate measures to eliminate the identified shortcomings and ensure compliance with the terms of the contract and current legislation in the field of passenger transport,» the executive committee said.

Response from the executive committee of the Voznesensk City Council, screenshot of the document

Response from the executive committee of the Voznesensk City Council, screenshot of the document

In addition, the city authorities also conducted «explanatory work» with carriers regarding the reasons for the shortage of drivers.

«Information was provided on the objective reasons for the shortage of drivers, including staff shortages related to mobilisation processes, population migration and other socio-economic factors. The issue of staffing with drivers and ensuring the proper functioning of public transport was under constant control by the relevant structural units of the city council,» they added.

Residents of Voznesensk complain about public transport disruptions on 6 January, screenshot from the Voznesensk Minibuses group. Public transport

Local resident Nataliia told NikVesti that the transport situation has improved, but due to overcrowded buses, passengers sometimes cannot get on them.

«They've started to take some action, but they blame all the problems on the lack of drivers. What have you done to get drivers? Practically nothing: there's no official registration, no reservations, no decent wages, repairs have to be done at your own expense — a whole bunch of 'buts'. On 12 January, the situation looked pretty good, and from 13 to 16 January, my route was running, but on Wednesday, they took away the big bus and put in a small one, which meant that people at several stops simply couldn't get on. The bus didn't even stop at the stops. I also heard that other routes either didn't run at all or ran with major disruptions,» Nataliia said .

It should be noted that in the story Suspilne.Mykolaiv, Murman Pipiia, director of VoznesenskAvtotrans, said that the main problem is a shortage of drivers.

«There are not enough drivers, they work without days off, we order them to. Some work 20 days without days off because people need to travel and it's cold, school has started. There are no other problems,» Murman Pipiia said .

Murmun Pipiia, director of VoznesenskAvtotrans, screenshot from a report by Suspilne Mykolaiv

We would like to remind you that on 5 December, a meeting was held in Voznesensk due to numerous complaints from residents about disruptions in the city's transport system. In particular, the meeting was attended by Deputy Mayor Oleksandr Myzhalo and Head of the District State Administration Olena Maksiutenko. During the discussion, it was concluded that the main problem was a shortage of drivers.

According to local residents, problems with city transport began about a month or two ago: buses often do not run on their routes or change their direction.

Residents of Voznesensk complain about disruptions to urban transport, screenshot from 22 December, from the Voznesensk Bazaar group

Residents of Voznesensk complain about disruptions to public transport, screenshot from 22 December, from the Voznesensk Bazaar group

In addition, the Voznesensk City Council has announced vacancies for those wishing to work as drivers. On 22 December, the editorial staff of NikVesti attempted to clarify the details by calling the number indicated in the announcement (095-125-22-36), but the person who answered the call said that they no longer worked at that number.