On June 30, a town-hall public discussion titled “The Current State of Public Transport in Ashotsk Community and Ways for Improvement” was held at the Ashotsk Community Library.
The discussion brought together members of the municipality and the local council, administrative leaders, entrepreneurs, representatives of educational institutions, and local residents. Attendees highlighted that access to public transport is particularly limited and problematic across the consolidated community of Ashotsk. The situation worsens during the winter months, and due to low passenger numbers, regular routes practically do not operate in remote villages.
Participants also noted the deteriorated condition of the vehicles, irregular schedules, and service quality issues, emphasizing that these factors negatively impact education, employment, and social mobility.
For their part, private operators outlined their economic difficulties, stating that certain routes are profitable only during specific peak hours of the day, while operating at a loss during the remaining hours.
During the discussion, several solutions were proposed, including establishing fixed transport schedules, implementing community and state subsidy models, introducing small high-clearance vehicles, and modernizing services. The necessity of launching flexible and demand-responsive routes was also emphasized.
At the conclusion of the meeting, it was decided to compile all proposals and officially submit them to the Shirak Regional Administration (Marzpetaran) and the Municipality for future policy development.
At the same time, it was underscored that the transport issues in Ashotsk and its neighboring communities are systemic. They require long-term, comprehensive approaches that take into account the mountainous terrain, harsh climatic conditions, and the remoteness of the settlements.
The meeting was organized by the Shirak Regional Branch of “The A.D. Sakharov Armenian Human Rights Protection Centre” NGO within the framework of the UDF-23-988-ARM grant project.
