On January 31, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting on the introduction of a new public transport system in the cities of Tashkent, Nukus and regional centers.

Public transport is an important social service that reduces distances, saves money and time, and improves the quality of life. More than 10 million people use public transport services in Uzbekistan every day.

In the Address of the Head of state, it was determined that 2,000 buses will be purchased in 2023 to improve the quality of passenger transportation. However, the President noted that no matter how many buses are purchased, it will not be possible to provide services that meet the needs of the population without changing the current system of work in transport departments and bus depots.

New houses, schools, kindergartens, hospitals and other institutions are being built in all regions. However, the transport sector is not keeping up with the pace of these changes and does not meet the requirements of modern development.

In particular, plans for the development of public transport have not been developed in some regional centers. Buses are used to running during rush hours of the day, as transport companies are tied to a daily revenue plan. Most of the time, passengers must wait a long time for a bus or use taxi services.

In this regard, proposals for improving the quality of service by changing the system of work at places were discussed at the meeting.

Thus, the practice of assigning a daily revenue plan will be canceled. Funds will be allocated to carriers depending on the distance traveled by bus and passenger satisfaction with the quality of service. The quality of service will be evaluated according to the criteria of convenience and sanitary condition of buses, and their arrival at stops without delay.

This system will be launched this year in Tashkent, Samarkand, Andijan and Urgench, and next year in other regional centers and the city of Nukus.

The Head of state stressed that public transport should be convenient for residents and attractive to entrepreneurs.

Existing bus routes need to be reviewed considering the population's needs. The President noted that polls should be conducted among residents, to study the requests and wishes of the population.

The systematic renewal of the transport fleet also plays an important role. At the meeting, proposals were made to stimulate this process.

In particular, the novelty of buses will be determined as the main criterion in open tenders for public transport routes. Annually, in the formation of funds paid to carriers, expenses will be provided for the renewal of 20 percent of the bus fleet.

In addition, entrepreneurs will be allowed to pay value-added tax on imported new buses in installments. A preferential loan for up to 10 years will be provided for the purchase of buses.

Ensuring the smooth movement of public transport on the roads is an urgent issue.

A program to increase the capacity of intersections by creating a separate lane for buses on 73 central streets in the city of Tashkent has been developed. This will increase the average speed of buses by 1.5 times and eliminate delays.

Hokims of the regions were instructed to approve and start implementing a similar targeted program for improving the transport infrastructure in the capital. The need for providing priority to public transport on roads and intersections, the creation of conditions for passengers and entrepreneurs at stops was noted.

UzA