Moldova Transport Protest: Services Suspended Over Laws
Transport operators in Moldova are planning protests in response to new changes to the country's Road Code.
They oppose the changes, claiming they will make it more difficult to operate their businesses.
The operators plan to suspend all regional and interregional bus services for a three-day protest from February 27 to 29.
Oleg Alexa, president of the Association of Transport Operators, said the new provisions of the Road Code contradict EU legislation. He said the government should immediately amend the code to bring it into line with EU standards.
"When you start protesting in a civilised manner, the government ignores you and treats you with contempt," Alexa said. "We are forced to resort to this form of protest, stopping the routes, in the hope that perhaps the government will understand what we want and will do what they promised the world they would do - integrate us into the European Union."
The new provisions of the Road Code come into force on March 1. Under the changes, local and municipal councils will be responsible for setting the schedule for local bus services.
The interval between interregional bus services will also be reduced from 30 to 15 minutes. The hourly interval will be abolished for international bus services travelling in the same direction.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development has not yet commented on the protests.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
