Marutyan and Avinyan Debated Public Transport Fare Increase
On December 18, at 7:00 PM, a live debate took place between the current and former mayors of Yerevan, Hayk Marutyan and Tigran Avinyan. The topic of the debate was the increase in public transport fares.
Former mayor Marutyan argued that it is possible to organize the budget’s expenditures in such a way that there would be no need for a fare increase. According to him, the transition to a unified system has nothing to do with the fare hike.
Mayor Avinyan countered that the transport fare (100 drams) has remained unchanged for nearly 30 years, despite improvements in the transportation system. This, he stated, necessitates a slight fare increase. He added that the average calculated fare would amount to 144 drams, and frequent passengers might even pay less than the current 100 drams in certain cases.
Both sides agreed on the necessity of implementing a unified system. However, their views diverged regarding the proposed fare changes.
It should be noted that Marutyan had initiated a petition titled “A Maximum of 100 Drams,” collecting signatures from citizens. Approximately 75,000 signatures were gathered in total.