News

9 January 2023

Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva has sent a letter to Sofia Municipal Council Chair Georgi Georgiev and Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova sounding an alarm about the large number of complaints in relation to the changed rules for using the city transport in force as of 1 January of this year.

In their signals to the national Public Advocate, Sofia citizens contest and firmly object against the changes related to the type of transportation passes, the requirement for mandatory validation of passes as a condition for a pass to be valid and the increase in the price of the transport service with the discontinuance of certain economically beneficial transportation passes.

As early as July 2022, Prof. Kovacheva sent a warning in a special letter to SMC Chair Georgi Gergov that the amendments under consideration did not meet the passengers’ transportation needs which was the goal of the Draft Ordinance to Amend the Ordinance on the Terms and Procedure for Using Public Transport on the Territory of Sofia Municipality.

“People are mainly concerned about the discontinuance of certain tariff products, mostly the monthly metro pass and the monthly one-line above-ground pass. The citizens complain that they travel to work or another daily destination using only one city transport line or the metro and now, after the changes, they are forced to buy a monthly all-line pass which does not respond to the actual needs,” the Ombudsman notes.

Diana Kovacheva emphasises that passengers who used to buy 10-ticket packages also indignant because they use the city transport rarely and are now forced to purchase a pass which does not correspond to their transportation needs or budgets.  

“In relation to the signals submitted to the institution, I consider it necessary to repeat my opinion that the new tariff policy should not be pursued through depriving the passengers of choice as to the type of transportation passes they may use. In this sense, I believe that the new tariff policy should be revised to preserve the transportation passes which allow for travel in line with the passengers’ needs,” Prof. Kovacheva is certain.

She also draws attention to another significant problem, namely the mandatory validation of transportation passes, noting that non-observance entails a fine which proves to be a concern and a difficulty for many elderly people.

“In this regard, I believe that a solution should be sought to this problem as well. I find it unfair to impose a fine on a passenger who has a valid transportation pass only because the person has failed to validate it,” the Public Advocate emphasises.

The Ombudsman adds that the institution receives complaints about the lack of sufficient and timely information about the current transportation passes and how they are validated. That is why she reiterates, as she did during the public consultations, that there needs to be an accessible awareness campaign to familiarise the citizens with the changes in using the city transport.

Prof. Kovacheva also notes another outstanding issue, namely the insufficient number of kiosks where transportation passes can be bought which is an additional problem for people and acts as a penalty for those who have not managed to buy tickets electronically.

“In this regard, I suggest that an increase in the number of kiosks where transportation passes can be bought be considered,” Diana Kovacheva notes.

In conclusion, the Ombudsman emphasises that to ensure an increase in the number of passengers in the Sofia city transport, it needs to become attractive and this can be achieved by boosting the convenience of transport services and preserving the diversity in transportation passes in line with the different transportation needs of passengers.