Numbers of minibuses which were canceled in August. Comfortable environment with the hands of Urbantin
In May and June 2016, 208 bus routes in Moscow will be operated by private carriers using unified city tickets (Troika, 90 Minutes, United). Preferential categories of passengers will be able to use the right of free travel. But this is not the end of the history of the type of transportation known as "route taxi" in Moscow. TR. en tried to understand the scale of the ongoing "velvet revolution" of the capital's land transport.
Buses
The first thing that will catch the eye of passengers even before choosing a travel route is the number of blue buses of different sizes and models, decorated with white ornaments in the style of the Moscow Transport brand. There were more than 2,000 of those. For about 20 years, the white and green color of the capital's buses (Ikarus, LiAZ, Fiat, MAZ, GolAZ and other less common models) has become strongly associated with Mosgortrans. Therefore, in order to choose a single color for all city buses operating according to the same rules, it was necessary to radically change the color.
About 10 years ago, a similar example of choosing a common compromise option was in the Moscow region. Where two almost identical routes, one of which was served by a private carrier, and the other by a state one, were combined. And in the end they assigned the route completely new number so that no one is offended. So instead of routes № 453 and № 557 from Kievsky railway station Moscow to Odintsovo began to walk the route № 339 .
All buses used by carriers for the execution of government contracts are divided into three types by capacity (small, medium and large). The Moscow Transport logo will be visible on all vehicles. And in addition to it, the name of the carrier company itself will definitely be present on the bus.
Sizes S, M, L
Small-capacity buses must accommodate at least 19 passengers, and they themselves - no more than 7.4 meters long and no more than 2.1 meters wide with a maximum weight of no more than 5 tons.
Buses of medium capacity must have at least two single or double doors, to accommodate at least 40 passengers, of which at least 17 could be seated. In addition, one place is required to accommodate wheelchair users.
Buses of large capacity must have at least three double doors, their capacity must not be less than 85 masseurs, of which at least 22 must ride seated. One place should be for the accommodation of disabled people in wheelchairs.
The engines of buses of all capacities are diesel. Ecological class for large and medium capacity - not lower than the fifth. But for a small capacity, a fourth is also allowed.
By the beginning of transportation, all buses must be new - no more than two years old. Carriers must purchase and equip all buses in advance in accordance with the parameters specified in the contracts. The city provided them with “lifting” means for this.
GLONASS, scoreboard and other stuffing
When organizing new social transportation, much attention is paid to the external and internal design of transport, passenger information systems, automatic equipment for the control and monitoring complex, and climate control. Before leaving for the routes, all carriers will be checked for more than 50 parameters.
Route signs on buses should be LED, which will be easy to see at night. And in the cabin itself, it is mandatory to have an electronic scoreboard with a running line informing about the time, temperature in the cabin and at stops. In addition, stops must be announced by an autoinformer. Sound commercial advertising is strictly prohibited.
All buses must have a GLONASS navigation system, a "panic button" in the driver's compartment and a set of video cameras. A validator must be installed in the passenger compartment of buses, which will accept tickets for the single city tariff menu (Troika cards, Trolleybus-Bus-Tram, Single, 90 minutes tickets) for payment. As in Mosgortrans buses, it will be possible to buy a boarding pass from the driver for the same price. But the presence of turnstiles, even in large-capacity buses, is at the discretion of the carrier.
Requirements for buses regulate the location and contents of everything and everything inside the buses, from top to bottom. The floor must be non-slip. The cabin must have an emergency hatch and modern system firefighting. The climate control system must maintain a fixed comfortable temperature in the cabin (in autumn and winter - at least 12 degrees Celsius, in spring and summer - no more than 25 degrees).
Auction winners will have to design all minibuses in a single color scheme, equip cars with special devices for people with disabilities. handicapped and install the GLONASS satellite navigation system.
Control
It is planned to establish strict control over compliance with the terms of state contracts. Violation of the conditions threatens with multiple penalties. If their size reaches a certain critical value from the amount of the contract, or for an accident with human casualties due to the fault of the driver, the contract may be terminated.
To ensure control, the entire arsenal of technical stuffing, which will be equipped with new buses, will be useful.
Buses or minibuses?
It's time to stop calling the "new blue" buses minibuses. This concept has existed for a long time only in colloquial speech. Regulatory documents all road vehicles designed to carry eight or more people are called buses.
According to the "Statute road transport…” transportation by buses can be done in two ways.
The first - with stops only at approved and specially designated points.
The second - on demand in any place not prohibited by traffic rules in the direction of travel.
The new urban transportation model "reforges" urban private buses from the second type to the first. Stop the blue buses wherever you want - it is forbidden.
For each route there is an approved list of stops, and for its violation - passing stops, disembarking in the wrong place - the carrier faces penalties. At the same time, automation will monitor the fixation of violations.
Stencils with numbers, end points of routes, start and end of movement, as well as intervals or timetables will be placed at each stop in a single city format.
Such route information will be posted at each stop. Author's illustration
New route numbering
With the launch of blue buses and the simultaneous elimination of commercial routes, the numbering of city bus routes should be streamlined.
Commercial routes since 2007, when the previously approved register of regular city bus routes came into effect, have had numbers in order from one to 767, to which the letter "m" was added at the end. Now there are only 451 left.
Of the 208 routes that will be operated by private carriers in May-June 2016, now served by Mosgortrans, they will continue to operate under their current numbers. And 141 additional routes will receive free three-digit numbers - mainly in the 300-500 bands. The city with several hundred internal routes had no other choice in order to create a single numbering.
Now these routes have "twins" in suburban traffic. Previously, numbers from 300 to 599 were assigned to routes connecting Moscow and the Moscow region (or Zelenograd, but they also pass through the Moscow region). However, since 2012, most new routes between Moscow and the region have been assigned four-digit numbers, with one as the first digit, so this series can be continued by assigning one to the three-digit suburban route numbers.
All new blue routes mostly have predecessors in the form of similar commercial routes. When reformatting, we tried to keep the old number as much as possible. Yes, route No. 311m will be replaced by the route № 311 as before route No. 368m already converted to route № 368 .
But not everywhere, when the letter “m” was discarded, the original number turned out - there are many coincidences with the existing routes of Mosgortrans. Therefore the route No. 122m converted to № 322 , replacing the first digit, and route No. 433m- will be mirrored to № 334 . Some routes found it easier to add the letter “k” at the end from another existing route. For example, the route No. 151m, whose route is in many respects similar to the route № 51 , is transformed into a route No. 51k.
Passengers will have to spend some time getting used to the new numbers, but this is more than offset by the fact that the conditions of travel on city routes will not depend on their number.
Route lines
Most of the "new city" routes will remain as they were before their commercial predecessors. About two dozen will be extended, combined with each other or shortened.
Some of the routes in the new format will be revived from oblivion. In the "commercial" mode, transportation along their routes has been discontinued, and some have even been excluded from the city register. These are the routes:
- № 432 "Skhodnenskaya metro station - 1st Tushinsky proezd";
- № 676 "Metro "Alma-Atinskaya" - Metro "Krasnogvardeiskaya"";
- № 845 "The 23rd quarter of New Cheryomushki - Ramenki".
Also, private carriers were instructed to serve a new socially-oriented route. No. C7"Ussuriyskaya Street - Upper Pervomaiskaya Street" in the Eastern District, which will connect Izmailovo and Golyanovo. After more than 20 years, urban transport will return to Upper Pervomaiskaya Street.
For each route, the capacity of buses is set according to the terms of the contracts. Large-capacity buses will operate on 48 routes, and more than 400 buses will serve them. Over 650 medium-capacity buses will run on 71 routes. Another 89 routes will be served by more than 650 small-capacity buses. Also, buses of small capacity serve two routes, which began to work on September 30, and they will also serve the route № 320 , .
Compared to the existing arsenal of carriers, private traders will have noticeably more buses of large and medium capacity. The role of small-capacity buses should not be underestimated either. Not all connections formed in the city are good for service by a large bus once an hour. For them, the principle of "less buses - less intervals" will be very good. In addition, there are “bear corners” in the city, where larger buses will not be able to pass and turn around.
Schedule and intervals
On most of the "new blue" routes, the start of traffic will be at 6.30, and the traffic will end at 23.00. Some routes have a different schedule for opening and closing traffic. Several lines will operate only on weekdays or weekends. A route № 390 serving Serebryany Bor - only in the warm season. All routes accepted from Mosgortrans will operate according to the previous schedule.
The intervals of movement are very strictly prescribed in the terms of the contracts. The carrier is obliged to develop a schedule on its own, but the intervals and number of flights for each of the half-hour time periods throughout the day must match those specified in the contracts. Compliance with the schedule is one of the most important tasks of the contracts, so the number of buses required to fulfill the schedule is determined by the carrier itself. The city at auctions set only the type of bus capacity (small, medium, large) and the minimum number of vehicles. The carrier must submit draft schedules indicating the number of buses it needs for approval no later than two months after the conclusion of state contracts, that is, already in January-February 2016.
The maximum length of the intervals, both on the "new blue" routes, and on those received from Mosgortrans, will be 33 minutes. There are not so many routes that rarely go. Basically, these are lines with a small passenger flow and small-class buses, where there is nowhere to increase the frequency of movement by replacing the rolling stock with less spacious ones. On most of the "new blue" routes, the intervals will not exceed 15-20 minutes.
For each daily route, four types of schedules are provided - for working days and weekends, separately for summer (from May to September inclusive) and winter (from November to April inclusive) time. At the same time, intervals in the summer - due to the seasonal decline in passenger traffic - increase on most routes. Thus, it is assumed that all routes will change the schedule twice a year - from May 1 and from October 1. At Mosgortrans, the introduction and cancellation of summer schedules is now more vague, in several initial and final stages.
Mosgortrans and colleagues
Not all existing commercial carriers have expressed a desire to participate in the auction to serve routes under the new rules. Whether they will leave the market, restructure their work, or continue to work is still unknown.
The largest number of routes will be served by the Autoline group. In second place is the company "20th Taxi Park", acquired several years ago by the Piteravto group of companies, successfully operating in the "social" transportation in St. Petersburg.
In total, about 10 carriers took part in the auction. Not all of them were winners.
Taking into account Mosgortrans and the carriers that have won past tenders, the number of blue bus operators can be counted on the fingers of two hands.
When did it start?
The dates for the start of transportation on all routes are no later than six months after the signing of contracts. The preparatory period is quite time-consuming for carriers, so it is not very profitable for them to speed up the start of work. It is necessary to purchase buses, develop and coordinate traffic schedules, adapt fleets to new buses, recruit and train employees, and much more.
By the beginning of December, more than half of the contracts have already been concluded, the rest are in the process of preparation. The first "new blue" buses will enter the routes on May 10, 2016, the rest will be added to them within a month. A fully preliminary schedule for the start of work of private carriers under the new rules will become known in mid-December.
When the buses of New Moscow turn blue
Moscow is no longer limited to the circumference of the Moscow Ring Road, and since July 2012 it has also grown with the "New Moscow". On this territory, which includes Troitsky and Novomoskovsk administrative districts capital, the period of adaptation to urban conditions continues.
Therefore, Moscow commercial routes serving New Moscow were not included in the auctions held last autumn. One of the problems is the rapid growth of residential, social and transport infrastructure in new territories. Therefore, it is problematic here to calculate the situation with transportation for five years ahead. Namely, the five-year period of work on the routes is laid down in city contracts. It makes no sense to reduce the period of validity of the contract, since during this time the new rolling stock will not work out. In addition, carriers with short-term contractual obligations find it more difficult to obtain bank support for their activities.
At the beginning of December 2015, there are 31 commercial routes in the city register operating in New Moscow. Of these, more than half are not full or abbreviated analogues of Mosgortrans routes. Moreover, some corners of New Moscow are served only by them.
The Moscow Department of Transport has already voiced information that the continuation of the development of a new transport model in New Moscow will depend on how the model works within the old city boundaries. We need to see how it is implemented in practice - competitions will be held, winners will be determined, when they come out, they will start working. The picture will become clear no earlier than the summer of 2016. If we add to this the time for holding auctions and six months for preparing carriers to enter the line, we get the start of work in New Moscow no earlier than 2017.
Why minibuses will not disappear from Moscow in 2016
In anticipation of the transition to city standards, new commuter routes were agreed by the Department even to those metro stations where nothing ever went outside the city, for example, from Chertanovskaya metro station.
Meanwhile, the Moscow region has already decided on the routes operating at regulated tariffs in 2016. TR. en reported that their list. But most bus links between the region and Moscow can still be called "minibuses" in their essence.
In addition, it is not clear what to do with some urban routes that are not among the reformatted ones. For example, quite recently, at the end of November, an extension of the route was approved in the city registry No. 539m from the Kuryanovsky terminal to the Maryino metro station across the new road between Kuryanov and Maryin along the Moskva River. Minibuses have already gone along this route. There are no other public transport routes on this road. However, the route No. 539m so far there are no plans to transfer to a new transport model.
Dropped out of plans for a new route network and route No. 580m connecting Vnukovo, Izvarino and Kyiv shosse with the Belyaevo metro station of the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya line. There are no analogues to this route either.
Therefore, most likely, in the second half of next year, after an analysis of the first months of mass work of private carriers, new auctions will be announced. But the carriers, determined by their results, will enter the routes already in 2017.
And this means that the complete disappearance of "minibuses" in Moscow in 2016 will not happen.
26 days Moscow lives without minibuses. The years of Deptrans and Gorproekt attacks on this convenient transport ended with the complete victory of municipal transport over private transport.
I will not repeat my arguments for minibuses again today, because. in any case, only those who use public transport themselves and who respect the citizens can hear these arguments. I will just record today's disaster with public transport.
The problem with the bus is that for at least its minimum payback, it must be packed to capacity. Where the minibus departed once every fifteen minutes, buses will depart every half an hour, or even an hour. Just so as not to transport air corny. The number of complaints in social networks about the long wait for buses (after the cancellation of minibuses) goes beyond all reasonable limits. There are areas of the city, from which, in principle, now people get to work for hours.
And yet I do not write in order to again to scold deptransovskih "geniuses". And in order to maybe at least in one they canceled their endless stubbornness.
Talking about traffic jams. There are traffic jams that occur due to accidents, and there are traffic jams that occur every morning and every evening. Most often, such traffic jams are in areas that are not so important for passenger transportation. For example, one or two stations to the metro. Or at some intersection with the Moscow Ring Road. Those. in places where even passengers rarely get out or sit down. For minibuses, such traffic jams were not a problem. The driver asks the passengers "is everyone to the subway?" Everyone in the morning, of course, answers “yes” and the driver goes around the traffic jam. It was the mobility of minibuses that allowed them to carry more passengers per day than buses of the same route. And by the way, such a flexible form of public transport in itself is a fight against traffic jams. But what happened happened and now we have only buses, or mini-buses that are still rare, but also rigidly tied to the route (replacing convenient foreign-made minibuses).
And here is my proposal - to allow buses and mini-buses to bypass traffic jams, going beyond the route.
Yes, yes, in the old days, drivers and large regular buses went around traffic jams. But not now. Now trackers have been put on the buses.
Look at this photo. Previously, this could only be imagined in relation to trolleybuses and trams.
Yes, there is an accident ahead. And yes, the buses stand stupidly and wait until it resolves there. Not a single bus dared to leave the route in order to avoid the accident ahead. Thanks to the geniuses of urbanism, buses are now lining up in such queues, although it seemed to us that "not a tram - will go around."
Raise your hands if you think it's more convenient for passengers.
“This was not the case with minibuses!”
©
I have been arguing with those who have urbanized our city half to death for a long time. So I know their argument - "TRANSPORT APP!". The idea is that you look at the transport application, see how the transport is going and leave the house exactly at the moment when your bus / trolleybus / tram arrives. Let's leave it up to the conscience of urbanites what to do for those who arrive at the bus stop, leaving the metro or train (and this is a good three-thirds of the passenger traffic). Let's imagine that we really want to use the application, according to which buses flutter like a bee and sting stops almost every ten minutes.
So, late evening of an autumn day. I'm standing at the bus stop and looking at the excellent official city transport application. I'm waiting for the bus 591. Now it has already appeared at the turn. Here he is already approaching the stop ... but stop. There is no bus. I am shocked and immediately cut the video recording on the phone screen. Next, look carefully for yourself, follow the ghost bus number 591
https://youtu.be/y_9pM27VDas
It's beautifully gone, isn't it?
I don't know what it was. Maybe the routes are full of ghost buses so that Sobyanin is shown how fun and dense public transport is on the roads of the capital. Maybe this is not a deception of officials, but just an application glitch. So be it.
I only know that at the moment when I was filming the video, I was waiting for transport not for 15 minutes, as usual, when minibuses were running, but for half an hour. And for sure, I could sit in a minibus, but now I have to not only stand in traffic jams, but literally stand. And I would be fine, but this also applies to the elderly and all passengers now.
Summary.
I do not believe that Deptrans will return minibuses. It is foolish to return to the streets vehicles that did not need to be purchased by the city and which brought profit to the city with taxes.
But I hope that at least the deptrans workers will allow public transport to bypass traffic jams and still put things in order in their application. It would be equally desirable, since the minibuses have already been removed, to increase the traffic intensity and the number of routes.
Without any doubt, this year will be remembered for a number of bright and significant events in the field of public transport: the launch of the Moscow Central Ring (MKZhD), the dismantling of trolleybus lines in the city center, the reorganization of surface transport routes in the central part of the city, the introduction of clock intervals and the removal of turnstiles on all tram routes of the Krasnopresnenskaya tram network. This list will include one more significant event: the transfer of private carriers to a contract model of work on a city order, in other words, the elimination of "minibuses" in the most "classical" sense of the word.
About why minibuses are bad, we already wrote earlier, now we can only repeat the main theses, which have not changed at all:
1. Travel cards, unified city tickets and the Troika card are not valid on minibuses. If a person who regularly uses OT in the city has a travel card, he always has to pay separately for travel by minibus. This is inconvenient, entails an increase in transport costs, no discounts for big number trips are not cumulative.
2. The vast majority of minibuses are small and cramped. The distance between the seats is always minimal (in order to cram more), it is simply impossible to get into a minibus with luggage or a baby stroller.
3. A separate pleasure is the payment system: when the entire salon first transfers the fare, and then transfers the change back.
4. Minibuses do not run according to a schedule, but according to occupancy. In fact, this is a mockery of passengers in its purest form, which for some reason they tolerate and consider normal. Sometimes you can sit for 10-15 minutes just like that in a minibus, because it is not full and does not go, during this time 2 buses manage to pass.
5. The technical condition of many minibuses raises big questions and concerns, and drivers often work without any observance of labor laws.
6. Compliance with traffic rules by drivers of minibuses has long been a topic for jokes. At the same time - the cause of serious accidents with human casualties. In terms of safety, the minibus has been and remains the most dangerous type of public transport.
7. Minibuses do not invest in the infrastructure at all (the same stops or settling areas) that they use.
But the main thing is that all minibuses work in the "gray". That is, the funds received from the payment of travel, in reality, no one controls.
This sets the stage for a huge number of financial frauds.
Do not forget that public transport is a public good. This means that all income coming from it must be public - that is, controlled by the city. The case when private carriers operate on the existing urban infrastructure only in the most profitable and “delicious” places only means that the city does not receive a huge amount of funds because of this, which could be directed to the development of the state-owned carrier Mosgortrans, updating it rolling stock, repair of its infrastructure (including the trolleybus network) and even the abolition of turnstiles.
Simply put, answer the most popular question last days“Who did the minibuses interfere with?” quite simply: minibuses interfered with the whole city and, first of all, with the users of public transport themselves. They also interfered with motorists (mainly by parking in unauthorized places and stopping where the passenger wants) and other public transport - often waiting for minibuses simply did not allow buses and trolleybuses to drive up to stops normally. That is why minibuses were and remain a relic of the past, which the city should have said goodbye to for a long time.
Which way did the city decide to go in these conditions?
In fact, Moscow has chosen the most correct and logical path, which is equally a compromise for the city, passengers and private carriers.
It was announced that all routes in the city will operate on the order of the Department of Transportation in the amount strictly stipulated by the state contract. The city will order from the carrier a certain number of flights on certain routes, for which the carrier will receive money from the city. All income from the transportation of passengers goes to the city treasury. Also, carriers undertake to accept all types of city travel and discount tickets.
To do this, at the first stage, an analysis of the route network of Mosgortrans and private carriers was carried out to identify duplicate routes (looking ahead, let's say that this task was far from perfect). After that, the city began to put up routes for auctions, as a result of which it concluded a contract with carriers for servicing routes for a period of 5 years. This whole procedure took place last year, approximately from the beginning of May of this year, carriers began to enter the routes.
All routes that have been affected by the “new model” of surface public transport can be divided into three categories:
Routes formerly operated by private carriers that are now being "socialized".
Routes previously served by Mosgortrans, which are being transferred to service by private carriers under a government contract. Duplicate minibuses are closed.
Routes of private carriers, which are closed in general, due to the increased work of duplicating Mosgortrans routes.
In total, it was planned that non-state carriers would enter 211 city routes (67 were supposed to be transferred from Mosgortrans).
In general, the picture looks quite logical, but how did it really go?
Already from about the second week of May, when private carriers were supposed to go on routes en masse, the first problems began to fall. To begin with, carriers began to massively disrupt the timing of exits on their routes. The reason for this was quite banal: they did not have enough buses.
LIAZ-5292.65 carrier Piteravto
The fact is that in order to work on routes, carriers had to massively purchase buses that meet the strict requirements of the city. Since the purchase of used European buses was impossible due to the requirements, and the products of Chinese manufacturers rose in price due to the exchange rate, the production of only two factories in the CIS, LIAZ and MAZ, really met the requirements of the capital. At first, it was reported that the Avtoline group for its routes in the city would purchase exactly the products of the Belarusian manufacturer, nothing was known in advance about the preferences of other carriers. But then the first problem happened, when it turned out that due to problems with the supply of components, MAZ would not be able to fulfill the order of Avtoline and other private carriers in full. Under these conditions, the main burden fell on ... the same LIAZ. It is not surprising that the plant simply choked on so many orders, because in less than six months it was necessary to assemble several hundred buses for private traders, and this was superimposed by another large order from Mosgortrans (which then, by agreement, had to be postponed to the second half of 2016).
MAZ-203 on route 26.
As a result, the delivery of these buses continued not only in May, but also at the beginning of summer, although the orders have not been fully completed so far. In order to prevent a collapse, Mosgortrans handed over a number of routes to private traders much later than the established deadlines (when the buses arrived), and in exceptional cases, he was forced to return to their service again, because. the situation with non-delivery of passengers crossed all reasonable limits.
Several more features of the work of the “new model” of land transport are associated with the rolling stock. Firstly, in this model there are no buses of especially large capacity (in other words, “accordions”). The reason for this remains completely unknown to anyone, although a number of routes that have departed from Mosgortrans to private traders were previously served by just such buses. To compensate for this, private traders had to work with shorter intervals and more flights, but as practice has shown, this decision is far from obvious.
The evolution of the rolling stock on route No. 714.
So one of the most difficult situations developed on the route of bus number 714 (Rizhsky railway station - Pavel Korchagin street). Prior to the transition to the "new model", the route was served entirely by accordion buses, but now it is served simply by large capacity buses. Yes, there were 3 more of them on the route than before, but this did not solve the problem of overcrowded buses in any way. The only relief came only with the arrival of summer, when passenger traffic naturally decreases, but September is coming soon, which means that we will most likely see crowded buses again.
In addition, another incident happened to the rolling stock. A large number of routes of private carriers under contracts must be served by buses of medium capacity. But the problem turned out to be that in the requirements of the city for this type of rolling stock, they forgot to prescribe a ban on the bonnet layout. As a result, one of the largest carriers, the Avtoline group, decided to purchase Iveco VSN 700 “overgrown” minibuses for such routes - such a large half-plastic invention created on the basis of an ordinary cargo van.
Nizhegorodets-VSN700 (IVECO) has become the main symbol of the minibus reform.
Body VSN700 without skin. It's scary to think what will happen if a truck drives into it.
Everything would be fine, but only this bus is not low-floor. Only formally, the rear platform has a low floor, where you can drive in with a wheelchair or large luggage, but by default, landing is made at the first door, because. it is she who has a validator, where there are traditional 3 steps at the entrance.
Note that such buses partially entered the routes served by Mosgortrans low-floor buses. It turns out that the conditions for passengers have not only worsened, but rolled back 10 years ago. Add to this the extremely narrow aisles, stiff suspension, inefficient air conditioning, and the fact that the purchased buses are equipped with a manual gearbox (carriers are trying to minimize the cost of purchasing rolling stock), and it turns out that the “new model” not only did not give passengers a new level of comfort, but vice versa, deprived of the old. It is noteworthy that, unlike LIAZ, the production of these "overgrowths" managed to rivet them not only a lot, but even more than necessary. As a result, now such buses sometimes operate on routes where the contract provided for the operation of conventional large-capacity classic buses! For example, this is exactly what has been happening on route No. 282 for more than a month.
However, the first months of the work of non-state carriers under government contracts turned out to be an unspoken transitional period. According to Federal Law 220-FZ of July 13, 2015 on the cancellation of routes, carriers serving them must be notified by the authorized body that made such a decision at least 180 days in advance. Therefore, all the old, classic “minibuses”, canceled by the order of the Moscow Department of Transport dated February 15, 2016, could continue to work quietly until August 15, 2016. But on August 15, the same “X” day came, when all minibuses that did not correspond to the new model were supposed to disappear from the city (not counting New Moscow and the Moscow-Oblast routes). True, several small carriers did not agree with this decision and decided to try to challenge this order in court, but their share of traffic is so insignificant that we will not pay much attention to this fact.
On August 15, passengers who came out of habit to public transport stops did not wait for their traditional minibuses. Complaints, angry posts on social networks, articles in the media rained down. Why did such a long-implemented reform at the very last and crucial stage fail?
First and most big mistake was admitted in terms of informing people. During the launch of new routes, as a rule, everything was limited to only a few small announcements at stops, where a list of canceled routes was indicated in very small print, and at once in the entire district.
It must be admitted that such a format is extremely unsuccessful, from the point of view of perception by a simple average passenger. Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to say that many passengers simply did not know about the cancellation of minibuses on August 15 and any compensating routes to replace them.
The second problem that began to manifest itself is the intervals of movement. In the morning, minibuses left many sleeping areas with a frequency of 2-3 minutes, and now they have been replaced by a larger bus, but with an interval of 10 minutes. Of course, in some cases, the compensating route goes more often, but this is rather an exception. True, here it is also necessary to note the fact that in the evenings near the metro, usually minibuses departed less frequently. It's just that passengers, as a rule, did not notice the expectations, because expecting at this point a trip in the minibus itself! Favourite hobby minibuses - departure only after the salon is full has not been canceled.
Another thing is that for some reason it has historically developed for us to compare intervals only during peak hours, as if no one travels at other times. And here the situation is quite different. Even if in the late evening hours minibuses tried to maintain intervals of 10-15 minutes, then most of the routes replacing them at this time operate at 30-minute intervals. And now this is actually a serious problem.
The issue of coordinating the schedules for the routes of non-state carriers and Mosgortrans did not remain resolved. It's funny to say, but in some cases, when a private owner serves a shortened version of the "long" Mosgortrans route, both buses ride one after another (a good example is the T9 bus and route 379).
The third problem was that the compensating bus routes under the state order did not always completely repeat the routes of minibuses that had been canceled earlier. So, for example, route No. 76k does not enter the territory of the New Marfino microdistrict, as the minibus 258m did earlier. There are other examples, for example, in the area near the Dynamo metro station, previously minibuses 4m and 592m followed from Stary Petrovsky-Razumovsky passage to the metro by the shortest route through Left Palace Alley to Leningrad Avenue followed by a U-turn along the overpass at the interchange with the Third Ring Road. And the new social routes 592 and 22k instead for some reason follow a one-way ring through Petrovsky-Razumovskaya Alley and Novaya Bashilovka. Not only is such a route initially longer (and therefore slower), but it is also more traffic jam! And who will like it?
The scheme of movement of buses No. 595 and No. 595m in the Dynamo metro area.
However, on August 15, another serious problem worsened much more sharply - the banal non-export of people. It turned out that clear miscalculations were made in the calculations of the carrying capacity of the new routes. Firstly, a number of "route" routes, having become publicly available on a single city ticket, have become so popular that even without the abolition of commercial duplicates, they began to travel with filled buses (the vast majority of which are of small or medium capacity). There was simply nowhere to put people from the canceled commercial routes. In other cases, Mosgortrans routes were not strengthened enough. All this leads to overcrowded buses, as well as to the fact that in some places already banned minibuses in the city continue to work, although now it is completely illegal.
On the other hand, it must be admitted that for the most part, the “new model” of ground transport and the integration of private carriers has nevertheless gone quite successfully. For passengers using travel cards, the network of ground transport routes has significantly increased, the chaos of the route near metro stations has disappeared, and transport has become much more frequent in most areas. These are big pluses that look obvious from the point of view of an ordinary passenger.
As for the problems and local deterioration that users of the “new model” have to face, it should be noted here that the situation is completely fixable. First, any contract can be modified by adding an additional agreement to it. Moreover, this work is already underway on a number of routes. Thus, it is possible to modify or change the route of routes, intervals of movement and the type of rolling stock operating on the line. True, in terms of routes here, you have to wait for the carrier to finally deliver buses of the size that were provided for in the contract. Special attention, by the way, is required to remove intervals in the evening and between peak hours. Now on a number of routes this is really a huge problem. In the fall, the period of Mosgortrans drivers coming out of vacations will begin, it is quite possible that it will be possible to strengthen some of its routes, as they say, on their own. Although, you need to understand that transport reforms like this have not been carried out in the city before, so it is quite logical that it cannot go completely perfectly. Most likely, in the coming months we will see more than a dozen additional agreements to already signed contracts with carriers.
For those who want to immerse themselves in all the details and features transition period"new model", we recommend a series of publications from our colleagues on the TR.ru website.
In the meantime, we propose to help the Department of Transportation find the most problematic points in the city and places where the “new model” has failed. Write in the comments, it is advisable to refrain from emotions and clearly indicate the problem.
11:04 — REGNUM Moscow has introduced a unified standard for carriers on city routes: only private carriers of the “new model” who previously concluded special contracts with the mayor’s office are allowed to carry passengers. As a result of electronic auctions, 8 transport companies. Minibuses in their original form are considered illegal in the mayor's office. Meanwhile, "illegal immigrants" continue to serve the capital's passengers on quite familiar terms.
In some areas of the city, new blue minibuses are already officially running, the correspondent was told. IA REGNUM in the press service of the Moscow Department of Transport. “Those companies that operate on routes from Moscow to the Moscow region, as well as in ZelAO and TiNAO, have not been affected by the changes at the moment,” the press service said.
Any city bus has social cards and all types of city tickets. At the same time, the option to pay in cash remains: the driver sells a ticket for one trip. “To work according to the new standards, carriers purchased about 2,000 new comfortable buses equipped with a climate control system, video surveillance, and voice notification of stops. Buses of large and medium capacity are equipped with ramps for people with limited mobility and passengers with wheelchairs. new standard establishes requirements for drivers: for the safety of passengers, they cannot exceed the speed of 60 km / h, sell tickets while driving, and stop "on demand," the ministry said.
Minibuses of a new type began to appear on the streets of the city in 2015. The reform continued evenly, during the year the blue buses went on the line. The scheme was supposed to start working on May 16, 2016, but not all carriers that passed the selection managed to enter the routes.
The department added that all companies that are forced to leave the routes were warned about this in advance. “In order for passengers to have the opportunity to get used to the new buses and evaluate all their advantages in the presence of a familiar alternative, carriers operating according to the“ old ”scheme worked until August 15,” the press service stressed.
As a result, 370 routes that were previously operated by commercial carriers in the city are closed, the correspondent was told. IA REGNUM President of the Moscow Transport Union Yuri Sveshnikov. “About 50 companies that have been operating in the city for 15 years, and which Muscovites are used to, must cease their activities due to the actions of the authorities,” he specified.
According to the expert's forecasts, the number of illegal carriers will only increase, adding that the decision to reduce routes will be challenged in court, lawsuits have already been filed. “All routes that legally worked must be issued certificates in accordance with Federal Law-220,” Sveshnikov explained.
The President of the Moscow Transport Union added that the passengers themselves would not like this innovation either: the route network would be reduced, the usual schedule would change, and the bus interval would increase.
Muscovites are actively sharing their emotions about the cancellation of minibuses in social networks.
"Big thanks" to the Department of Transport of Moscow from us, ordinary passengers. I went by minibus "301m" to the stop "Lilac Garden". Now I have to ride two buses. First, you wait for the "760th", which runs irregularly (three can drive up at once with an interval of 1 minute), and then there will not be a single one for 30 minutes. And then transfer to another bus. This is an alternative, ”complains in social network"VKontakte" metropolitan passenger Elena Levkina.
“I used to have a bus and a minibus running from the metro. Now only the bus is jam-packed and every 30 minutes. It used to be 40 minutes from the door to work. Now it’s good if you get there in 1.5 hours, and you won’t be remembered anywhere, ”Kirill Ananiev is indignant.
“I’m now on the 443 bus from the River Station to Druzhby Avenue in Khimki. Although I need to Novokurkinskoe highway. But the minibus "662", which miraculously took me exactly where I needed, now does not go from the "River". A kind gentleman in a yellow-green vest explained: minibuses have been canceled since Monday. When I asked how to get from Rechnoy to Novokurkinskoye Highway, he shrugged his shoulders and said: “Look for detours. Until they come to an agreement there ... "And so I'm driving, and ahead of me is a traffic jam on Leningradka, which the 662nd has perfectly traveled around the Moscow Ring Road. Farewell, wasted time, ”another passenger is indignant.
“Minibuses ran every 5-7 minutes in the morning, and my girlfriend waited 35 minutes today. As a result, I went by taxi, ”Alexander Dvizhnov is indignant, specifying that we are talking about the minibus "456m". “This blue bus (like a minibus) rides like a turtle. Well, everything is not for people!” - Yulia Mukhoryamova echoes him in the same place.
Preparations for the land transport reform began in 2012. In April 2013, Moscow imposed a moratorium on the opening of new "commercial" routes. According to the decree of the Moscow government, new routes could appear only by order of the State Unitary Enterprise Mosgortrans. As a result, the number of "commercial" routes began to gradually decrease. In 2015 there were about 500 of them, and by 2016 there were less than 400 left.
On Monday, the Moscow Department of Transport published on its website the news that the reform of the capital's land transport is close to completion. The changes affected all districts of the capital, with the exception of TiNAO and ZelAO. Now the usual minibuses no longer exist, and all city tickets and social cards must be valid on all bus routes.
“Passengers can now easily distinguish a legal carrier. Buses of private traders of one - bright blue - color. There must be a validator in the cabin to pay for travel with city tickets. If the carrier does not offer such an opportunity, it operates illegally. Such companies often violate safety standards: they exceed the speed limit, maneuver dangerously on the road to save money, refuse passenger health insurance, and do not issue a ticket. Drivers of illegal carriers often do not observe the regime of work and rest, and before entering the line they do not undergo a medical examination. Inspection of transport is also carried out irregularly, which increases the risk of an accident, ”the Department of Transport quotes the words of the head of the State Institution “Organizer of Transportation” Sergey Dyakov.
In GKU "Organizer of Transportation" to the question "NI" about the lack of information for passengers about upcoming changes, we were told that today an additional information campaign is being carried out at large transport hubs.
“Employees of the State Public Institution “Organizer of Transportation” help passengers orient themselves and find an alternative transport stop. Employees of the GKU OP are noticeable in a large passenger flow, they are easy to recognize by their bright vests with the “Organizer of Transportation” patch, the press service of the department assured.
In addition, informational posters were placed at bus stops, the organization says.
However, judging by the opinions of the townspeople, there are ads and promoters not everywhere. Neither did the employees of NI, who tried to get to the editorial office this morning on the minibus 308m, which until recently followed from the Kuntsevskaya metro station, either.