Bucharest mayor seeks insolvency protection for public transport operator STB

Bucharest mayor Ciprian Ciucu has called for the insolvency of the capital's public transport operator STB, arguing that court-supervised restructuring is the only way to avoid bankruptcy and ensure the payment of employees' salaries, according to Economica.ro.

Speaking at a press conference, Ciucu said STB's financial situation had become unsustainable and warned that, without entering insolvency proceedings, the company would eventually face bankruptcy.

"Without insolvency, at some point, STB will effectively go directly into bankruptcy," Ciucu said.

The mayor identified three main causes of the company's financial difficulties. The first is the historic practice of non-payment of tax and social security contributions to the state budget, with the outstanding debt reaching RON 1 billion (EUR 190 million) and accumulating penalties.

He also criticised the Bucharest–Ilfov Association for Intercommunity Development for Public Transport TPBI, arguing that it had failed to fulfil its coordinating role, and blamed STB's management for inefficiency resulting from political appointments. Ciucu also cited the reluctance of successive administrations to implement reforms because of pressure from trade unions.

In a Facebook post, the mayor argued that STB has effectively been insolvent since 2020, when it stopped paying employees' tax and social security contributions to the state budget.

"Since then, they have been racking up debts and penalties of more than RON 1 billion, year after year," he wrote.

According to Ciucu, STB's total liabilities reached RON 1.72 billion in 2025, of which RON 1.49 billion represents debt to the budget. Around RON 402 million of that amount consists of penalties.

Ciucu described the operator's financial position as "undeclared bankruptcy", arguing that insolvency proceedings would provide a legal framework to restructure the company while maintaining essential public transport services in Bucharest.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Codrin Unici)