Due to the regional social protection ministrys debt to Irkutskavtotrans, service for benefit recipients and dacha routes in Irkutsk was threatened. The company, which serves 30 city and 27 garden routes, is already forced to buy fuel, spare parts and electricity on credit, and workers appealed to the governor to solve the problem. If the debt is not paid, discounted travel on garden routes may not start on time, which especially worries pensioners.

The reason is the large debts of the regional Ministry of Social Protection of the Population to "Irkutskavtotrans". This enterprise serves 30 city routes and 27 gardening routes and is the only one in the city that transports concessionary passengers. Today, the workers of the bus depot sent a letter to the governor of the Angara region asking him to solve the problem.
The Ministry of Social Policy, Guardianship and Trusteeship of the region owed "Irkutskavtotrans" 14 million rubles for 2008.
Fuel, spare parts, and even electricity have long been purchased by "Irkutskavtotrans" on credit. And settling accounts with suppliers is now no less important for the enterprise than paying wages to its workers. "At any moment literally any supplier can come and say: I can no longer extend credit to you for delivering fuel to you, because the debt is too high. This will immediately affect the release of rolling stock onto the line," said Gennady Lemesh, a member of the labor collective council of "Irkutskavtotrans".
In such a situation, servicing concessionary passengers is in question. Meanwhile, it is this category of people that most often uses municipal transport services. Since officially gardening routes usually begin operating only from mid-April, for now gardeners travel from the stop on Sofya Perovskaya Street at their own expense. And not often. But when the summer cottage season begins, such trips will become almost daily. And then one pension alone will not be enough to make the trips. Therefore, pensioners speak out firmly about the cancellation of concessions. "There will be a strike. In the truest sense of the word."
It is assumed that concessionary travel on gardening routes will begin to apply from May 1, if the issue of repaying the debt of the local Ministry of Social Protection of the Population to the enterprise "Irkutskavtotrans" can be resolved. Regional authorities promised to comment on the situation tomorrow.