Sumgait People Afraid to Travel on Dangerous Buses

Baku / 03/31/18 / Turan: Turan received an appeal from the residents of Sumgait, who expressed indignation over the buses of the 509th route dangerous for the lives of passengers on routes to Baku, the fairs of Sadarak, Bina and back. Despite the numerous reports of control raids and the removal of non-standard buses from the routes, people are forced to travel on buses with self-made seats installed between the rows. Instead of factory seats they are handmade of smaller size, which allows auto companies to transport more passengers and receive more profit from each trip, the authors of the message inform.

The cynicism of what is happening is that the mass use of dangerous buses occurs after the assurances of the head of the Sumgait Executive Power Zakir Farajov, who promised to stop dangerous trips after the tragic accident on the Baku-Sumgait highway in March 2017, which resulted in the death of six students of the Sumgait University. Sumqayit Naqliyyat Ltd. is subordinated to the head of Sumgait EP; therefore, Farajov can solve the problem with one solution, ordering the LLC head Hanni Rustamov. But, listening to the reports of the local authorities and the traffic police about the "successful struggle" with non-standard buses, Sumgait people use them daily. In these buses it is difficult to move, and passengers can hardly fit in the cabin. In the event of an accident, when the door is skewed from the impact, it is impossible for the injured to get out of such vehicles, Sumgait people write.

The traffic police do not remove such buses from routes, although ensuring the safety of public transport passengers is a direct duty of the GDP.

A former Sumgait bus driver who asked to remain anonymous confirmed to Turan this version saying that the head of the city Farajov, having come to this post, demanded from carriers to buy new buses or to stop work. Those who did not have the means to purchase new foreign buses were forced to look for a way to stay on the lines. It is obvious that the carrier operating the route N 509 found a way out of the situation.

As explained by the source to Turan, the owners of companies are forced to transfer part of the proceeds to the local government apparatus. In order to replenish this part of the income, businessmen demand the drivers should give them their daily revenue, which can be obtained by increasing the speed of buses, installing non-standard seats and increasing the number of daily trips. The drivers get tired, which causes accidents on the roads.

Sumgait residents are also dissatisfied with the building of the city bus station, whose appearance and services are lagging behind the demands of the times.

Turan studied the problem. The 509th and other Sumgait bus lines leaving the city limits are not managed by Sumgayit Negliyat LLC as citizens claim, but by the eighth department of the Ministry of Communications, High Technologies and Transport. The office is located in Sumgait.

Answering the Turan question, the head of this state organization Adalet Agayev said they had accepted the request of the news agency, agreed with the demands of the townspeople and would soon take away dangerous buses from the routes. On the 509th route there are already 2-3 new Korean buses in which non-standard seats are absent. Work is underway to purchase new buses. And the installation of dangerous seats in the salons is explained with the economic interests of the drivers, Agayev said.

"We invited the owner of this bus line and talked with him about the inadmissibility of using buses with a threat to the safety of passengers. After your call, we will take measures and the shortcomings will be removed," Adalyat Agayev promised. -0-