President travels by public transport, checks the quality of service (photos)

On May 26, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the 7th bus depot of the Toshshakhartranskhizmat JSC.

Every issue related to the daily life of the population is under the attention of our state. In particular, the public transport system is being developed based on the growing demand.

In recent years, the city of Tashkent has grown both in width and height. The number of permanent residents, temporary residents, tourists, students has increased. Previously, 800-900 thousand passengers used public transport in the city, but now this figure has exceeded 1 million 300 thousand. Therefore, there were problems such as lack of buses and long waiting time.

On December 13 of last year, the head of state visited the 18th bus depot in the capital, he saw this situation himself, and gave orders to bring new buses and improve passenger comfort. Based on this, on February 16 of this year, the decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On measures to reform the public transport system” was adopted. During today’s visit, Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with the implementation of tasks in the field.

In April-May, 755 modern buses were brought to the city of Tashkent, and they were placed on the busiest routes. As a result, the daily number of buses reached 1,400, and 9 additional routes were opened. Another 245 buses will be brought in the next few days.

In particular, the 7th bus depot used to serve 90,000 passengers a day on 18 routes. Recently, its fleet was enriched with 67 new vehicles. Naturally, the capacity of passenger transportation has increased, and the interval time of buses has decreased.

Officials also provided information on the updated Transport Master Plan of Tashkent city. As mentioned, it was designed based on the analysis of the city’s expansion and passenger flow, with 167 routes. In 17 of them, the procedure of setting daily plans was canceled and they were transferred to the calculation system based on the distance traveled. In June-July, the remaining 150 routes will be transferred to such a system through tenders. As a result, the regularity of trips will be ensured, and the quality of service will increase. 

The qualification of drivers is also very important. That is why driving training and retraining have been launched at the Transport University and other educational centers. The monthly salaries of bus drivers have been doubled, and more than a thousand drivers have been hired since the beginning of the year.

The head of state emphasized the importance of establishing a high-quality bus service. He gave instructions on regulating the fare payment system, digitizing traffic control, and improving conditions at stations.

“The new buses certainly created additional conditions for our people. The task now is to reduce traffic on the roads and ensure free movement of buses. The ultimate goal is to increase the coverage of public transport in Tashkent to 2 million passengers,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

The President got on a bus and traveled along the route with ordinary passengers.