For two years, the citizens have been reacting to the bad public transport in Skopje, complaining about the non-respect of the timetable and the long wait for the bus, which is why they froze in the stations in the winter, and in the summer they collapse on the vehicles and at the stops, finally at today's session of the Council of City of Skopje, let the public hear the real situation with transportation in the capital.

And while until now the JSP constantly claimed that the transportation works normally, the new director of the JSP, Dragi Kushovski, today dared from the pulpit to say what all Skopje citizens who ride the bus every day already know well - that there are not enough buses to respect the timetable.

The reality is as it is, there is nothing to hide. The fleet, after the purchase of the Chinese "yutong" buses, numbered around 350 buses and the timetables, both summer and winter, were adapted to that number of buses. Currently, there are 190 to 200 vehicles in traffic and with them we cannot even serve the summer timetable, which we know is a shortened timetable. From September, when the winter timetable should start, the situation will be even more difficult. From today's point of view, even if none of our buses break down, we will have a shortage of 100 buses. At the moment we have a shortage of 40-50 buses - said Kushovski.

He explained that the bus services also take place in difficult conditions due to a lack of parts. For one type of bus, the parts come from China, but the company has debts to suppliers who brought parts for servicing in the past period, who are now canceling cooperation, because JSP is not able to service those debts. At the same time, according to Kushovski, the company's expenses have also increased because the parts are becoming more expensive.

From the heat 10 to 15 collapses a day, people pass out at bus stations, at work, in buses

Currently, the average age of the vehicles is 12,5 years, only the 33 "man" buses are newer, while the "yutong" buses have so far covered a mileage of over a million kilometers per vehicle.

Regarding the reaction of the citizens that the buses are not air conditioned, Kushovski explained that today the air conditioners did not work in 27 buses, but that he was informed that by tomorrow the air conditioners in five more buses will be serviced, while in some of them the problem cannot be overcome because what parts are missing.

When asked why the company is in this state when it receives large subsidies, Kushovski replied that the transportation costs have increased, and the price is still the same.

We know when the shipping price was determined and what the costs were then and what they are now. We have free transportation for students, and for the last three years not a penny has been received from the Ministry of Education and Science. At the same time, the company just failed to increase the collection of tickets - emphasized the director of JSP.