Public Transport Redevelopment in Yerevan, Armenia – Problem or Opportunity?

This paper has considered the existing and proposed future role of minibuses in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. With the rapid rise in oil fuel prices, the public transport network disintegrated from 1991 and was later developed in a different but local manner. This involved the extensive use of privately owned and commercially operated minibuses. Although there is a metro line, trolleybuses and buses, the minibus network is the most wide reaching mode in the city although not necessarily the most popular mode. Each mode is operated independently from any other with no multimodal ticket available with the result that all modes compete with each other.The use of minibuses has few advantages, primarily that of allowing passengers to complete their journeys without changing and allowing the city to operate a network without recourse to subsidy and as a revenue stream. There are more disadvantages with their operation that can be summarized as being slow and difficult to board and alight, their number causing congestion particularly at city center bus stops, it is unclear how safe they are and their ride quality is poor. In addition, in common with other modes of public transport no tickets are issued which prevents passenger data from being collected and also prevents interchange between different routes or modes. To improve the public transport network and to reach the Mayor’s goal to reduce the number of minibuses operating in the city center, it is suggested that a two tier bus network is adopted using 12 meter large buses for a strategic network supported by a network of local minibuses using a hub and spoke approach. This would require a ticketing system to be introduced. This principle was demonstrated by using the example of buses between the suburb and the city center. Thus, although the existing role of minibuses within the public transport has become too dominant, a re-structured network retains an important role for this type of public transport as a secondary and feeder role. This allows existing operators to continue to invest in and earn money from public transport in Yerevan.

• Record URL:
  • https://aetransport.org/past-etc-papers/conference-papers-pre-2009/conference-papers-2010
• Corporate Authors:

  Association for European Transport (AET)

  1 Vernon Mews, Vernon Street, West Kensington
  London W14 0RL,    
• Authors:
  • Sellin, Mark
• Conference:
  • European Transport Conference, 2010
  • Location: Glasgow Scotland, United Kingdom
  • Date: 2010-10-11 to 2010-10-13
• Publication Date: 2010

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; Maps; Photos;
• Pagination: 13p
• Monograph Title: European Transport Conference, 2010 Proceedings

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bus stops; Bus transit; Bus transportation; Minibuses; Multimodal transportation; Operating subsidies; Public transit; Transit operating agencies
• Geographic Terms: Yerevan (Armenia)
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01351751
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 14 2011 11:12AM