Czech company Arriva is interested in the program for the introduction of a unified route network in Armenia

ArmInfo. The Minister of  Transport, Communications and Information Technologies Vahan  Martirosyan received on November 4 the Czech Ambassador to Armenia  Petra Mikisku and the Executive Director of the transport company  Arriva Daniel Adamka.

As the press service of the Armenian Ministry of Transport informs,  during the meeting the Ambassador Mikiska presented to the Minister  the approximate experience of the Czech Republic in the operation of  the transport system and the role of the company "Arriva" in it. He  expressed hope for the formation of mutually beneficial cooperation.   Daniel Adamka, in turn, described in detail the company's activities,  vehicles - high-quality buses of various capacities, operated in 14  European countries. In his words, in addition to the production of  buses, the company is also developing new technological approaches to  vehicles. He also expressed a desire to participate in the program  for the introduction of a unified route network in Armenia.

Vahan Martirosyan informed that it is envisaged to change the  management of the transport system of Armenia and will be happy if  one of the largest transport operators of Europe - the company  - also takes part in the competition of the pilot program  planned in one of the regions of Armenia.

The Minister proposed to present the program after relevant studies,  and then to continue discussions on specific areas of cooperation.

Arriva is a European transport company headquartered in Sunderland,  United Kingdom. Since 2010, it has been fully acquired by the main  German operator of Deutsche Bahn railways. The company is represented  in 14 countries, its fleet consists of buses (city and intercity),  trains, trams, river trams.

It should be noted that in the near future a program for creating a  single route network will be approved in Armenia. The Minister of  Transport, Communications and Information Technologies of Armenia  Vahan Martirosyan stated this at a press conference on September 26.  The minister reminded that earlier, in July of this year, the  Armenian government approved the technical specification for the  republican transport network. This, as pointed out by Martirosyan,  means the creation of an intra-republican transport network -  interregional and intercity, which will serve the routes that were  previously outside the transport service.  Based on the results of  studies of the Ministry of Transport, 220 such communities were  identified, 40% of which will be included in the network being  created. In addition, the "single ticket" system will be introduced,  the practice of the so-called owners of route lines will disappear by  creating a single operator serving the entire transport network. The  program will soon be tested in one of the regions of the republic, at  this stage the legal side of the issue is being considered.

Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Transport, presenting the  concept of the program, said that a single network across the region  means the presence of one operator that will serve all routes,  including those that today are not profitable both in terms of road  quality and low level of passenger traffic, - the minister said.  As  for the timing of the implementation of the program, the minister  said, agreements have been signed with the transport companies  servicing the routes. "Only after the completion of the terms  prescribed in the contracts, we can talk about the changes," - said  the Minister. 

At the same time, as the head of the Ministry of Transport informed,  a tender for the operator will soon be announced, in which everyone  can participate. According to Vahan Martirosyan, in the process of  planned reforms, it is also planned to increase the level of control  over the sphere. "At this stage, a transport management system is  being developed that will allow monitoring through the online monitor  the traffic and the timetable for their movement," the minister  explained.