Bucharest mayor wants subway operator under her authority

Bucharest’s General Council will decide this Wednesday on a draft project aiming to transfer Bucharest’s subway operator Metrorex from the state’s private property in the property of the Bucharest City Hall. The transfer will include the funds necessary to finance the current expenditure and development of Metrorex, reports local Agerpres. The City Hall has come up with a draft asking the Government to transfer the Metrorex stake, which is currently held by the Transport Ministry, to the municipality. Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea explained that all public transport operators serving the capital need to be connected and integrated. The Bucharest City Hall is in charge of the public bus and tram system RATB. By transferring Metrorex to the Bucharest municipality, it would be easier to integrate the services provided by RATB and Metrorex, Firea added. The municipality could introduce a single ticket valid for all public transport means in the city. According to Firea, the public transport serves about four million inhabitants in Bucharest and the surroundings. Developing and modernizing this system will help discourage transport with private cars. editor@romania-insider.com