Penza, 12 May 2015. PenzaNews. The city officials plan to raise the maximum city commute fare level in Penza starting on June 1, 2015, said Natalya Klak, head of Tariff Regulation and Energy Preservation Department of the region, during a press conference held on Tuesday, May 12.

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She was joined at the meeting with journalists by Penza vice-mayor Sergei Simonov; Penza City Duma deputy, general director of “Korporatsiya Dilizhans” and “Kompaniya Dilizhans,” Andrei Fomin; and representatives of United Russia and CPRF parties.

“The calculations on buses are approaching the final stage. The project will be setting the maximum bus fare level at 20 rubles 2 kopecks, and 20 rubles 79 kopecks for trolley buses,” Natalya Klak explained.

The marshrutka (shuttle bus) transportation companies claimed the maximum fare level for them will be set at 30 rubles, but there is no official decision on it yet, she noted.

“I am not ready to explain anything on marshrutkas yet, because the calculation materials are still under review. Our task now is to research the passenger throughput. There are e-card validators in buses and trolley buses, and MUE ‘Artsis’ provides us with actual figures. We must check the claimed figures for marshrutkas through our own analysis,” explained the head of the regional Tariff Regulation and Energy Conservation Department.

The analysis will be crucial in determining whether it is necessary to increase tariffs, she stressed.

“We must lay down a justified cost of the service for each user. For the company’s expenses, the first thing to consider is the salary fund. Drivers and ticket operators are tied to transportation donations. And it is very much a true mission to ensure their salary increases year to year, as the Russian government tells us relentlessly. Moreover, the expenses include fuel and oils. They [their prices] are also growing. And we must reflect this situation using the consumer prices provided to us by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development,” Natalya Klak said.

Discussing the connection between the maximum fare volume and the actual fare, Andrei Fomin suggested the fare increase was already necessary a long time ago.

Explaining the reasons behind it, he pointed out that many transportation businessmen owe big money to banks, other legal entities and credit issuing bodies.

“The funds are used for repairs, the infrastructure, the salary, the taxes. We are living in debts not because we perform poorly, but because we fail at achieving our legal and agreed liabilities,” he said.

Andrei Fomin reminded that municipal transport is refunded the difference between actual and maximum fare from the city budget, which is not applied to private city commute transport.

“The city administration thinks the private transportation companies are not entitled to be refunded lost profits in case transportation fare is reduced,” the businessman added.

According to him, this is exacerbated by a stagnating volume of passenger throughput, which means “the cost price of transportation grows only by means of statistics.”

In his turn, Penza vice-mayor Sergei Simonov answered the question about the raised maximum fare that may be followed by increased actual fare saying that “if we take the analysis in the neighboring regions, we are in the same tune with them.”