Velika Gorica locals aren’t happy as as yet unofficial information that ZET could charge them more to use public transport that connects them to the capital has leaked to the media.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 22nd of January, 2019, Every year, Velika Gorica ZET subsidises about ten million kuna for the Zagreb-based company to be able to connect the Croatian capital city with other nearby areas around Velika Gorica, such as Mraclin, Poljana Čička, Strmec Bukevski, Kozjača… ZET is in charge of all sixteen lines which travel to these areas, and the contract whch was initially signed is now about to expire, which is why negotiations on extensions have begun.
But the subsidy that Velika Gorica pays to ZET could, according to the first calculations which have been discussed unofficially from that company, be even higher in the coming period. The news quickly spread to local media, leading concerned Velika Gorica residents to rightfully ask: Does this mean more expensive public transport?
”That’s just what we’re missing! God forbid that we get new buses for the residents in the neighbourhood. They’re cold inside, the wind blows from all sides, they’re old and they all shake,” reads just one of the irritated comments caused by the news about possible price increases. Those who have been using bus number 268, which they have referred to as the “line from hell” connecting Velika Gorica to Zagreb don’t sound much happier, either.
“We should negotiate more convenient transportation with regard to the condition they’re in – there are often defective vehicles, unpleasant drivers, constant delays or skipping departures,” added one Velike Gorica resident, adding that the monthly workers card costs as much as 610 kuna. Still, there is no official confirmation of the ticket price increase as yet, and Velika Gorica’s administration have said that they will do anything to make sure their residents don’t need to pay more.
”Negotiations are in progress and we can’t say anything more specifically until they’re over. The expiration contract lasted for ten years, it was signed in 2009, and the signing of the next one is a matter of agreement,” they say from Velika Gorica. This is very similar to what they are saying from ZET, and details about the contract are still as yet unknown.
”However, as of now, the quality of service and passenger satisfaction are our imperatives, and Velika Gorica and ZET are socially sensitive partners and take care of the needs of all public transport users,” they say from ZET.
The concession contract extension, or the possibility for a new one to be signed without the announcement of a public tender was made possible by a decision by Mayor Dražen Barišić back in 2017, and the majority of that was adopted by the City Council, but only if the contract is signed under the exact same conditions as previously, so it is not yet clear how these proposed price hikes could potentially fit into a new contract.
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