Bucharest metro operator plans annual, weekend subscriptions

The management of the Bucharest subway operator Metrorex doesn’t plan to change the metro tariffs in the next two years, according to Marin Aldea, general manager Metrorex. However, it plans to introduce annual subscriptions, as well as weekend subscriptions. “There are plenty of ideas, but it doesn’t mean that the average tariff will change,” Aldea said, cited by local Agerpres. The company plans to replace the charging system in 41 stations, which means the complete replacement of the access doors, as well as the introduction of 139 modern machines that sell travel cards and also give change. At present, a ticket for two rides costs RON 5 (some EUR 1), one for ten trips costs RON 20 (EUR 4.4), and a daily pass has the price of RON 8 (EUR 1.7). Frequent users can also buy a monthly pass for RON 70 (EUR 15.5). The metro line connecting Bucharest’s Drumul Taberei residential area to the city center could be operational starting mid-2017, said the Transport Minister Dan Costescu. “It’s a realistic goal,” he added, reports Agerpres. The deadline for this metro line had been postponed until the end of 2017, but the Ministry doesn’t find this term acceptable anymore, said Costescu. The Drumul Taberei area has been packed with construction sites for four years, and the neighborhood needs to be cleared, according to the transport minister. Romania should also complete a metro line between Bucharest’s main train station Gara de Nord and the Henri Coanda International Airport in the north of the capital by the European Football Championship in 2020, but it will most likely be ready one ear later, in 2021, the transport minister announced in late-April. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com