DUSHANBE, May 24, 2011, Asia-Plus — Rise in public transport fares in Dushanbe will lead to increase in market prices in the capital city, the Communist Party (CPT) leader Shodi Shabdolov, who is also member of Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament, said in an interview with Asia-Plus, commenting on the municipal government’s decision to raise public transport fares beginning on June 1.
According to him, the municipal government should think over the public transport subsidy measures in order to ease the fare hike effect.
“Since mainly private motorists are engaged in carriage of passengers, the country’s government must resolve problems and consequences of rise in public transport fares, because local authorities are not able to resolve these problems on their own,” the CPT leader noted.
Shabdolov considers that employers could provide “additional compensations.” “Anyway, I am sure that there ought not to let this problem take its course; government raise wages by 30 percent, while prices rise 40-50 percent,” he said.
