Payback for New London Taxis 45 Years?

Baku / 24.08.20 / On August 20, Turan agency published an article "100 new" London taxis "after the president's speech on state-owned companies-dependent".

It raised the question of prices and conditions for the acquisition of 100 new LEVC TX vehicles (London taxis or cabs as they are called) by the Baku Taxi Service under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technologies (MTCIT).

Information requests were sent to the Ministry of Finance and MTCIT. The Ministry of Finance, which finances all state projects and takes into account the costs, kicked the agency to MTCIT. On August 17, MTCIT received an information request, but in violation of the law does not give an answer.

While waiting for an answer, we tried to find for ourselves an indirect answer to the one put before the Ministry of Finance and MTCIT.

We went to the LEVC website.

The company points out that the TX auto costs 57,099 pounds sterling (127,057.56 manats) if paid in full right away. The cost of a car when buying a loan for 61 months is 69,934 pounds sterling (155618.19 manats).

In both cases, it is too expensive and unprofitable for Azerbaijan. In the case of a loan, you have to pay the seller 746 pounds (1,660.01 manat) monthly.

In London, a 10 km taxi ride will cost about 20 pounds (45 manat). In Baku, the same distance is 5 manats, that is, 9 times cheaper.

Naturally, in London, this car is cost-effective for the buyer. But it doesn't work in Baku. That is, an Azerbaijani taxi driver will need 9 times more time to reimburse the cost of the car. If a London taxi driver pays off the loan for 61 months, then an Azerbaijani taxi driver will need 549 months or 45 years! Let us reduce this period by half, if the car runs on the roads 24 hours a day. And what about depreciation costs and so on? It still doesn't work.

We are perplexed by the results of our own analysis of the situation. The agency emphasizes that the request to the Ministry of Finance, and then to MTCIT, did not proceed from mercantile interests at all, but from the interests of the state, and even more so - of society. Therefore, the question addressed to MTCIT remains valid. —0—