The meeting was attended by Presidential Aide, State Council Secretary Alexei Dyumin, Minister of Transport Andrei Nikitin, Chair of the State Council Commission on Effective Transport System, Head of the Republic of Buryatia Alexei Tsydenov, representatives of federal and regional authorities, and others. The discussion focused on the development of public transport.
In his opening remarks, Alexei Dyumin stressed that the quality of everyday life largely depends on the efficiency and reliability of public transport. He emphasised the need for continued efforts to improve transport services both in major cities and smaller residential communities.
“At present, federal support measures for public transport in the regions are aimed exclusively at renewing rolling stock. However, this alone is not enough, as certain other issues also require attention. These include modernising public transport infrastructure and improving traffic management, as well as other measures.
Residents in many cities across the country most frequently complain about long waiting times and transport service delays. One of the main reasons for these problems is the shortage of drivers. Therefore, addressing the personnel shortage in the public transport sector is a top priority.
Overall, the current transport situation in Russian cities is largely the result of the absence of a comprehensive public transport development strategy. We need to change our approach by providing regions with practical tools that will enable them to improve the situation so that people can see positive changes,” Alexei Dyumin emphasised.
The State Council Secretary also pointed out that a number of Russian regions have already achieved substantial progress in advancing their public transport systems and noted that their experience should be adopted in other constituent entities.
Andrei Nikitin reported that extensive efforts to renew the public transport fleet are underway under the Infrastructure for Life national project as well as through federal executive body programmes. This year, 47 regions will receive support from the Ministry of Transport, enabling them to introduce some 2,000 new buses, trolleybuses, and trams.
Alexei Tsydenov noted that the President has set a target of ensuring that at least 85 percent of public transport fleet is in proper condition by 2030. At the same time, he stressed that modernisation should go beyond replacing vehicles: citizens also expect convenient schedules, affordable fares, regular service, and comfortable travel conditions. Federal support measures have already been introduced at the President’s instruction. A major task now is to ensure long-term funding mechanisms that will allow regions to comprehensively modernise their transport systems while enhancing the quality of travel for their residents, the Commission Chair pointed out.