According to the Mayor of Tbilisi, there was a case when despite a free seat in the minibus, but the driver did not stop to the passenger, which is an absolutely unacceptable attitude.

“Recently, we have heard complaints from some passengers about minibus drivers that at their request, the driver of the minibus does not stop the vehicle and does not allow them to move. First of all, I must tell you that this may be due to the lack of free space in the vehicle and that is why the driver does not stop, however, we do not deny that cases of arbitrariness are also taking place. We are carrying out the monitoring. There are times when there are free seats in the minibus but the driver does not stop. This attitude is unacceptable. As of today, more than 200 drivers have been fined. Monitoring will continue in the future as well. I would like to call on the passengers who will face a similar case, be sure to contact us on the hotline and we will always respond to you.

You know that our current system has radically changed our transport policy. Minibus drivers have been working based on earnings so far, the more passengers they picked up, the more revenue they had. The minibuses were faulty, the air conditioning system was not in order, and it was not turned on intentionally for saving fuel.

The problem was also that they could pick up passengers and stop everywhere, which increased travel time and hindered other vehicles. Now, all that has changed. Minibus drivers’ payments moved to a fixed salary. Certainly, there are some drawbacks. We were even expecting this because a fairly big reform was carried out. We will fix everything and follow every point as to - where there is a delay, where the transport is late, where it needs to be added, which route needs to be improved, and so on”, - said Kakha Kaladze.