Bus circulation in Prishtina will remain blocked until the funds are allocated to the accounts of “Trafiku Urban” employees and private transport operators.
Elmi Gashi from “Trafiku Urban” stated that once the transfer of funds is completed, operations will resume immediately, noting that it takes about 30 minutes to prepare the buses for service, reports Ekonomia Online.
“The protest continues today and will persist until the municipal debts to ‘Trafiku Urban’ and private operators are cleared. The decision made last Thursday to transfer self-generated revenues for 2024 to 2025, totaling 28 million euros, has been sent by the Municipality to the Ministry of Finance. We are waiting for the Ministry of Finance to approve this positively for us… hopefully today or tomorrow. Once the funds are allocated, we will return to work; it takes us about half an hour to get back to normal operations,” Gashi said.
Izet Smajli, head of the private transport association, also expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to citizens who rely on public and private transport.
“As private companies, we haven’t received salaries for six months. They paid September, but not the last five months. The Municipality owed us 2.7 million euros; after paying September, 2 million remain unpaid. 1.05 million are salaries, and 1.35 million are debts to fuel suppliers. We cannot start operations without the funds. Salaries must be paid first, and obligations to suppliers must be fulfilled because they no longer provide fuel without payment. On the day the money is transferred, we will be satisfied and resume work. I urge the Government to expedite the process so that transport can resume as soon as possible,” he said.
