Astana has proposed raising the public transport fare to 150 tenge, the city akimat reported. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
The public transport fare in Astana was set at 90 tenge in 2014. Over the past 12 years, the fare has been revised once and currently stands at 110 tenge.
The akimat's statement notes that the main costs of carriers have increased significantly. "Since 2014, the main costs of carriers have increased significantly, namely fuel, spare parts and the cost of new buses, as well as the costs of drivers' wages. For example, if in 2014 a litre of diesel fuel cost about 107 tenge, now its price is 329 tenge. Thus, over this period, the cost of diesel fuel has increased more than 3 times," the statement says.
According to the akimat, the costs of drivers' wages have also increased significantly. For example, if in 2014 the average salary of drivers was about 100-150 thousand tenge, now, depending on the bus class and work schedule, it starts from 700 thousand tenge.
"During this period, the cost of spare parts, car tyres, batteries, maintenance and repair of buses, as well as the purchase of new rolling stock, has also increased significantly," specialists say.
Over the past three years, carriers have purchased 1127 new rolling stock units that meet safety, comfort and environmental requirements.
The akimat's statement also notes that existing measures of social support for Astana residents are being preserved. "According to the decision of the Astana city maslikhat dated March 29, 2018 No. 244/30-VI, certain categories of citizens are granted the opportunity to travel free of charge on urban public transport," the statement says.
The right to free travel is granted to the following categories of citizens:
- 01participants and disabled persons of the Great Patriotic War and citizens equated to them;
- 02pensioners by age and by length of service, as well as recipients of state social benefits by age and in connection with the loss of a breadwinner who have reached retirement age;
- 03mothers with many children;
- 04families with many children;
- 05persons with disabilities;
- 06children with disabilities under the age of eighteen, including one of their parents (legal representatives);
- 07victims of political repression from among the participants in the events of December 17-18, 1986 in Kazakhstan, rehabilitated in the manner established by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On the Rehabilitation of Victims of Mass Political Repressions".
In addition, since March 2020, travel has also been free in Astana for children under 18 studying in the city.
According to calculations carried out in accordance with the methodology for calculating tariffs for services for the transportation of passengers and baggage on permanent routes, in 2026 the average estimated cost of one trip is significantly higher than the current fare.
"Due to the growth of operating costs, the need to ensure the stable operation of public transport, further renewal of the bus fleet and the development of the route network, from December 1 it is proposed to set the fare at 150 tenge for cashless payment," the akimat concluded.