Penza, 6 April 2015. PenzaNews. The Communist Party in Penza has taken a firm stance against the decision to cancel bus fare deduction for certain citizen groups and introduce a limit of 32 discounted trolley bus tickets per eligible citizen.

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“I think this is the case because the city administration officials that are responsible for transportation affairs have failed to resolve the piled-up problems. […] I think they had enough time to act, but the situation only worsens, and in all respects, both for dacha and city buses – I don’t know why, maybe because they do not want to resolve anything. No signs of improvement. Obviously, this is disappointing. We will protest against it and demand to at least preserve it at the present levels during our May public rally,” Georgy Kamnev, deputy of the Penza region Legislative Assembly, first secretary of the Communist Party regional committee, commented for PenzaNews agency on Monday, April 6.

According to him, the current situation has taken place because of the lack of funds in the city budget.

“If, let’s say, the city had all the transport in municipal ownership, perhaps they could have done something about it, because using it would be seemingly cheaper. At least the authorities would have some leverage over transportation. Now, obviously, the transportation marker players demand max prices, max compensations, and the budget seems to have no funds, but the city no longer has any means to influence on these issues,” said the speaker.

In his opinion, the city officials must once again mull over the idea of creating a unified municipal body that would receive all city commute routes.

“I think they must strive towards it. Of course, they need to do a lot to reach it, but they should at least put it on schedule,” the leader of the Penza Communist Party branch concluded.