Comtrans of St. Petersburg was scolded online for “discrimination” in the new fare payment system
In its official group on the social network VKontakte, the Transport Committee of St. Petersburg published the opinion of political scientist Dmitry Solonnikov regarding the new fare system on city passenger buses. In his opinion, refusal to use cash and the absence of conductors is “normal,” and the older generation will supposedly be able to easily understand all the intricacies of non-cash payment. In the comments under the post, St. Petersburg residents criticized the “expert” and demanded that the transport department take into account the wishes of all residents of the Northern capital, and not impose someone else’s point of view on them.
«We have enough dignity to pay for ourselves. Therefore, the fact that there will be no conductors is normal... And again, many say that it is difficult for the older generation to understand technology. Let me remind you that people who are now 60 years old were 25–40 years old 45 years ago when digital technologies entered our lives. They were active and created this digital environment", said Solonnikov.
Many residents of St. Petersburg did not agree with the political scientist’s assessment of the trends of the new transport service model (NMTS) being implemented by the city authorities from April 1. Some noted that the current cashless fare payment system has many flaws that create additional inconvenience instead of the comfort promised by officials from Alexander Beglov’s team.
«The abolition of cash has nothing to do with dignity, do not replace the concept. In Soviet times, you could buy a ticket from the driver or from a machine on the same bus. Does people's ability to pay their own fare in cash make them less deserving? Or does your reluctance to accept payment in cash diminish this dignity?“- one of the VKontakte users responded to the words of Dmitry Solonnikov.
A subscriber to the public page of Comtrans of St. Petersburg called not to deprive citizens of the opportunity to pay for trips on ground public transport in cash.
«Let them install terminals on buses so they can pay in cash.“,” the girl addressed the representatives of Smolny responsible for the implementation of NMTO.
Some St. Petersburg residents expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that city authorities are actually forcing residents of the Northern capital to use Podorozhnik cards and other similar methods to pay for travel on surface public transport. Others are outraged by the need to activate funds on an electronic travel ticket, which cannot be done everywhere, since special new validators have not yet been installed on trams.
«Why am I being forced to buy something, set up some personal accounts, buy some plantain cards, St. Petersburg cards. Why do I need this and what for? This is already forcing a deal...“, one of the social network users asked.
«And why can’t I activate money on a tram, but only on buses? What kind of discrimination?“- the St. Petersburg resident wrote in the comments.
In addition, residents of the city on the Neva continue to complain about the noticeably increased bus intervals, which is why citizens began to be late for work. The problem of long waits at stops has not been resolved by the Transport Committee of St. Petersburg more than a month after the start of the implementation of NMTO.
«Yesterday I was waiting for 65 cars. 40 minutes in the morning! The day before yesterday I didn’t wait for 290, I went by minibus... I was late for work... Here is your reform... Benefactors...“, the St. Petersburg woman complained in the comments in the Comtrans group.
A number of media celebrated Previously, there was a shortage of dedicated lanes for ground public transport in St. Petersburg, which is why, in particular, trams are forced to stand in traffic jams with cars and often get into accidents.
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