Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan rebuked fare dodgers on Monday, claiming that the city loses enough money each week to buy two new buses.

“Calculations show that we have 70–80 million drams of unpaid fares per week, which is enough to buy two buses. In other words, those who do not pay are complaining that, because of their irresponsibility, we are not buying additional buses. Although we purchase new buses every year and will continue to do so this year as well, and we are also improving quality. We are carrying people who do not pay as a burden on our shoulders,” said the mayor, adding that fare dodging in public transport ought to be considered shameful and condemnable, and that no one should allow themselves to use public transport without paying.

The mayor thanked law-abiding citizens and public transport drivers for their diligent work.

The mayor presented the work carried out over the past week to ensure proper fare collection in public transport, emphasizing that, according to averaged weekly data, the number of validations by public transport users in Yerevan has increased from 15 to 30 percent. He expressed gratitude to law-abiding citizens and urged them to support drivers and public order enforcement officers in tackling fare evasion.

“Actually, no matter how much some individuals try to provoke drivers, they mostly remain calm. I want to first of all thank them,” he said.

Avinyan stressed that instead of being ashamed, fare dodgers are giving speeches and displaying aggressive behavior.

He noted that several incidents had occurred in public transport in recent days. The mayor described a recent assault on a driver as an “attack against the city.”

“One particularly unpleasant incident occurred that escalated into a fight and involved an attack on a driver. I know that three individuals have been arrested, and the fourth is also being processed under the relevant case. I want to be confident that these individuals will be held accountable to the fullest extent. In reality, any attack on a driver is not just an attack on an individual; it is an attack on the city, an attack on the entire system,” said the mayor.

He assured that once order is established in the sector, Yerevan will have significantly higher-quality public transport.