Protests affect urban transport, Association writes to Tirana Municipality for recognition of compensation

For 14 days now, massive citizen protests have been taking place in Tirana, starting in the afternoon and ending late at night with marches on the streets near the center. The protests are having a domino effect on public transportation in Tirana.

On the one hand, a significant increase in the number of passengers has been observed on some urban lines, especially in the late evening hours. “In 20 years of public transport service, there has never been such a high influx of passengers at 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM. This is the first time I have seen such high attendance. The increase is due to the protests,” claims a ticket for the Qendër–Porcelan line.

Although the number of passengers has increased, traffic jams and frequent route diversions have reduced the number of kilometers traveled by buses.

This situation is expected to directly affect the operators' income, as the performance compensation that operators receive from the Municipality of Tirana is calculated based on the kilometers performed in service. Consequently, the fewer kilometers are covered, the lower the compensation that operators receive.

In Tirana, public service transportation operates with funding from the Tirana municipality through subsidies and financing from private companies.

Kostandin Foni, president of the National Association of Urban Transport, explains that only for urban transport in Tirana, the Municipality provides compensation based on the route of kilometers traveled.

Specifically, according to him, if operators have traveled 94 to 96% of the designated kilometers, they benefit from compensation worth 0.9 lek for each ticket sold.

If they have covered 92 to 94% of the itinerary, the compensation amount is 0.8 lek per ticket. And for 90 to 92% of the itinerary, the compensation amount per ticket is 0.7 lek.

Due to the protests, there have been blockages on many axes of Tirana and for this reason, the itineraries of lines, such as those for the buses of Unazë e Vogël, Tirana e Re, TEG, Kristal, etc., have been forced to be diverted.

In this situation, the National Association of Public Transport has sent a letter to the Municipality requesting that during this period the conditions created by the protests be taken into consideration for evaluating the performance of operators.

"As a result of the protests held in the territory of the Municipality of Tirana, which have led to continuous blockages and diversions of the main road axes. Due to these traffic restrictions, the city's public transport operators have been forced to change the route of the lines, deviate from the approved routes and in many cases have not been able to fully realize the planned kilometers according to the contracts and obligations set by the Municipality of Tirana.

"We request that the kilometers not realized as a result of circumstances be recognized and considered as kilometers realized, for the purpose of evaluating the performance and contractual obligations of the operators," the letter states.

In total, around 50 bus lines operate in the capital, with a fleet of 200 buses.

Full letter

"The Association of Public Transport of the City would like to bring to your attention the situation created during the last week and the following, as a result of the protests held in the territory of the Municipality of Tirana, which have led to continuous blockages and diversions of the main road axes. Due to these traffic restrictions, the operators of public transport of the city have been forced to change the routes of the lines, to deviate from the approved routes and in many cases to not be able to fully realize the planned kilometers according to the contracts and obligations set by the Municipality of Tirana.

We emphasize that this situation has not occurred as a result of negligence or lack of commitment on the part of the operators, but due to objective circumstances independent of their will. Despite the difficulties, the operators have continued to provide public transport services to the greatest extent possible, guaranteeing the movement of citizens and the functioning of the transport network.

Thus, we request that in assessing the performance of operators for the period of the past week and the following days, the exceptional conditions created by the protests, diversions and blockages of road axes be taken into account. Specifically, we request that the kilometers not completed as a result of these circumstances be recognized and considered as completed kilometers for the purpose of assessing the performance and contractual obligations of operators.

We are convinced that the Municipality of Tirana will objectively assess this exceptional situation and will take into consideration the real impact it has had on the activity of the city's public transport operators."/Monitor