Armenia Residents Being Forced to Ride Metro after Fares Increased?

The inter-city public transport minibuses from Artashat to Yerevan, which usually stop at the Rossiya mall stop, will stop somewhere else starting from tomorrow.

Speaking to Epress.am, a passenger coming from Artashat (who did not wish to identify himself) said beginning tomorrow, the minibuses coming from Artashat will stop near the Gordzaranayin or Sasuntsi David metro stop.

“When we complained, the driver said he’s not to blame; yesterday, regional police came to his home and warned that the Yerevan stop will be changed from now on. The driver told the passengers, ‘People, I’m not to blame; they’re doing this because of the metro’,” said the passenger.

According to him, the change is so that the number of passengers taking the subway doesn’t drop, following the increase in fares introduced early this month, and “people, whether they like it or not, have to make use of it.”

Recall, the one-way fare for riding the metro in the Armenian capital doubled on Jul. 1: the previous fare of 50 drams is now 100 drams (about $0.27 USD), in line with other modes of public transport such as buses, trolley buses and minibuses (commonly known as “marshrutkas”). Many residents protested the fare hike, some by starting a Facebook group, others by organizing rallies.

As previously reported, Yerevan mayor Karen Kareptyan responded to the public’s concerns by publishing a note on his Facebook page: “I understand your concerns on raising the metro fare. By not taking this step, we would have endangered all the necessary conditions for ensuring the operation of the subway.

“Let me also note that the 100 drams fare [for public transportation] remains the lowest fare among CIS cities. I hope you will approach this issue with understanding,” he wrote.

According to figures cited by the mayor, 20 million passengers use the Yerevan metro annually, which is 5–6% of public transport passengers in the Armenian capital. The allocation to the Yerevan metro from the state budget last year comprised 1 billion 845 million drams.

Recall, in February of this year, deputy finance minister Vardan Aramyan, during the question and answer period in parliament, had said that subways are considered around the world to operate at a loss but are a necessary means of transport from a social perspective, which is why 65% is funded from the state budget, while only 35% of revenues come from fares. Aramyan had said that the fare increase will assist the metro to be self-financed.