Higher fines for not paying for bus tickets

“Fines for fare evaders on public transports may be increased,” Deputy Mayor of Tbilisi Irakli Lekvinadze has stated.

He said the issue was being discussed.

“In order to strengthen monitoring procedures, the Transport Company has raised an initiative to revise the sanctions. The issue is being discussed…an initiative is aimed at the prevention of these problems,” Lekvinadze stated.

A five GEL fine is the current incumbent sanction for fare evaders.

The Mayor’s Office also plans paying the fee to be available through all bank cards operating in Georgia.

There are cases when passengers avoiding paying as they don’t have a special transport cards with them.

Unlike the under previous United National Movement authorities, the conductors at present are more tolerable about such violations, and although they sometimes spend several minutes arguing with stubborn passengers, they do not often write a fine.

All involved parties have their obligations which must be met.

The Mayor’s Office must also think about the renewal of the public transport fleet, as many of the vehicles are aging badly.

In addition, many passengers have to stand rather than sit, which is uncomfortable, as there are simply not enough seats nor enough busses.

Most of the buses in Tbilisi have no air conditioning, which provides additional discomfort in the summer.

For their part, the passengers are obliged to obey the rules and take tickets as soon as get on the bus.

If the Mayor’s Office settles the passengers’ problems in public transport, it will have a full right to introduce even tougher fines for such violations.