In Irkutsk at council hearings they discussed the state and development of public transport, from stop improvements to fleet renewal and the introduction of an electronic pass. Deputies also raised urgent issues, lack of amenities at terminal stops, the need for schedule boards, the return of municipal route 23 and commercial transport in the evening. The article also gives data on passenger flow, vehicle condition and city plans to attract carriers to new routes.

On January 28, a City Duma hearing was held in Irkutsk, initiated by deputies Vitaly Matviychuk and Alexander Kvasov. At the hearing, City Duma deputies considered the issue of the current state of and measures for the development of public transport in Irkutsk. According to Yulia Gordina, head of the transport department of the city improvement committee at the mayor’s office, 46 public transport stops are planned to be improved in Irkutsk in 2015. Last year, in 2014, three stops were improved in the city, where benches, platforms, and shelters for waiting for transport were installed. Also at the hearing, City Duma deputy Zhanna Eseva asked that the possibility of improving the terminus near Hospital No. 8 in Novo-Lenino be considered; there is no asphalt there, there is no shelter for waiting for transport, and there is dirt and trash everywhere. Deputy Irina Yezhova reported on the need to install displays with public transport schedules and a city map at every stop. Deputy Anatoly Ablov noted that residents of Sinyushina Gora had repeatedly approached him with a request to restore municipal route No. 23, which operated four years ago.
As of today, passenger transportation is handled by two municipal enterprises, MUP “Irkutskavtotrans” and MUP “Irkutskgorelektrotrans,” as well as 132 private carriers. Over the course of nine months in 2014, municipal and commercial transport served 74 city bus routes, 7 tram routes, and 10 trolleybus routes. From April 15 to October 15 of last year, municipal buses operated on twenty-six seasonal gardening routes. According to Yulia Gordina, by the end of 2014, 85 buses and 24 trolleybuses had exceeded their depreciation period. 50 trams require major repairs.
Over nine months of last year, city transport made more than 918 thousand trips and carried 36.7 million passengers; commercial transport carried about 35.2 million passengers.
154,142 social travel tickets were sold in the first half of 2014 to citizens eligible for benefits. In addition, an aerial lift truck and 4 small-capacity buses were purchased last year. Construction of the trolleybus line contact-and-cable network in the Universitetsky microdistrict was completed, with 14 million rubles spent on it. Since November 2014, trolleybus routes No. 7 and No. 10k, after the Sverdlovsky District bypass road, were ordered to be routed through the Universitetsky microdistrict.
“For the first time in 8 years, we have begun attracting carriers to conclude contracts for regular passenger transportation. From October 2014 to the present, the transport department has concluded contracts for regular passenger transportation by buses on Irkutsk city routes with 16 carriers on 8 bus routes. This year, as Yulia Gordina explained, the plans include attracting carriers to conclude contracts for experimental routes: ‘Airport – N.I. CHP’ in the opposite direction via Akademichesky Bridge, ‘Thomson St. – Sovetsky 5th Lane – Rosa Luxemburg St. – Thomson St.’ and Central Market – China Town.”
Work is currently underway to introduce the so-called electronic travel ticket in municipal transport. It is based on contactless smart cards used for automated recording of the fact of travel. An appeal from the city administration and the deputy corps has been sent to the Governor of the Irkutsk Region, Yeroshchenko S.V., with a proposal to simplify the procedure for carriers to justify fare increases. Also during the hearing, deputies expressed their wish to renew the fleet of municipal motor transport enterprises and to strengthen work with private carriers on providing benefits for passengers. In their opinion, the city needs to work out the issue of organizing commercial transport operations in the late evening hours.
Based on materials from the press service of the Irkutsk administration.