Mayor’s Office denies increase for transport fee
By Tea Mariamidze
Monday, November 28
“Tbilisi City Hall (Mayor’s Office of Tbilisi) does not expect increase in minibus (Marshutka) travel fees.” The statement was made by the Deputy Head of Transport Service Merab Mamulashvili.
Mamulashvili says that Tbilisi Minibus Company informed the Mayor’s office that they intended to increase the travel fees from the next year, but Deputy Head of Transport Service claimed the fees would not be increased.
“We received such a note from Tbilisi Minibus Company last year and in spring too but the fees remained the same,” said Mamulashvili.
Moreover, Mamulashvili explains that the agreement enables Tbilisi Minibus Company to increase fees without permission from Tbilisi City Hall. However, he believes the company won’t take the step.
“The cost of travel by minibus in Tbilisi has remained unchanged for years and it will not be increased,” he added.
Member of Tbilisi City Council, Jaba Samushia confirms that Tbilisi Minibus Company really has a right to increase travel fees but he says the costs will not be increased.
“Unfortunately the contract of City Hall with Tbilisi Minibus reads that the company has a right to increase travel fees in a month, after informing Mayor’s Office,” said Samushia and noted that such one-sided agreement was made by the United National Movement (UNM) party, when it was in power.
The contract between Tbilisi City Hall and Tbilisi Minibus Company was signed in spring 2011, when four companies - Tbil Line LLC, Capital Group LLC ,Tbil Car LLC and Public Car LLC won in a tender announced by the Mayor’s Office and replaced old mini-buses with yellow new ones. However, from 2012 they increased travel fees from 50 to 80 Tetries.
At present the company owns around 2.500 yellow mini-buses in Tbilisi.
