Skopje, 29 August 2024 (MIA) - The Skopje City Council failed to adopt a decision approving the signing of an agreement for the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in Skopje at a session Thursday. The council members also failed to adopt a decision for the procurement of new eco-friendly buses for the public transport enterprises.

Fourteen members of the Council voted in favor of the implementation of the BRT project in Skopje, four voted against and two abstained. Members coming from VMRO-DPMNE, Green Humane City and Levica voted against the decision.

Twenty members endorsed the decision for the procurement of new eco-friendly buses, while five abstained and none were against. Twenty-three votes were needed for the motion to pass in the Council.

The BRT system was a project launched by former Skopje Mayor Petre Shilegov as an attempt to tackle the traffic chaos in the country’s capital. This is the third year running that the project is not being implemented, with the state paying penalties – EUR 350.000 annually in interest rates – for the EUR 70 million loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the project.

“We won’t support the proposal for the implementation of the BRT system, because despite the fact you constantly accuse us of not having a position, our position is that the citizens didn’t support this system, which is why VMRO-DPMNE won’t support it,” VMRO-DPMNE's council member Filip Janevski said at the session.

SDSM council member Ljubica Jancheva said the city’s public transport issue would not be solved just by procuring new buses that would service the current public transport routes.

“We have a complete project for BRT, for which we have funds, and the funds also cover the procurement of 50 new buses. And we are paying penalties for it. We need a new concept for public transport, not just the procurement of new buses. What Skopje and all passengers who use the public transport need is a new concept for a fast, efficient and environmental transport,” said SDSM council member Ljubica Jancheva.

Dragana Velkovska from Green Humane City said the BRT agreement was reached without public debate and in a non-transparent process, adding that there is no expert study justifying the implementation of BRT.

On Thursday, the Council of the City of Skopje is holding a session in which the council members are expected to back the motion on employment of nearly 120 people in the municipal hygiene enterprise and pass a decision of redistributing funds for the JSP public transportation company.

On August 22, Mayor Danela Arsovska in a coordination meeting with the council members presented a plan meant to put an end to the crisis in Skopje involving public transportation and waste collection. 

Photo: Screenshot