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After eight years, the Apex company has expired the contract with the City of Belgrade on the payment of tickets through the bus plus system.
Gojko Vlaović Photo: Miroslav DragojevićThat is, that company once implemented a bus plus system in public transport in Belgrade and, based on that service, received the right to make the payment and take a percentage of the tickets sold. That contract has already expired, and the worst thing for the interests of both the citizens and the budget of the City Council is that it be renewed as harmful and unfavorable.
Therefore, the city authorities should not think of doing something so disastrous, but also make a similar arrangement with another private company.
It is completely wrong for a company that establishes a ticket collection system in the next eight years to obtain the right to enjoy the proceeds of its sale without participating in any way in the public transport process in Belgrade.
Based on available 2018 data, Apex raised 900 million dinars from ticket collection. At the same time, the city of Belgrade was forced to cover public transport costs with up to 70 percent of the budget. From that data, it becomes very clear that the contract with Apex is not only detrimental, but also the bus ticket collection system plus is completely inefficient.
The city authorities now have two options. The first is that after the termination of the cooperation with Apex, which, if the people of Belgrade think well, it would have to happen, it will take over the ticket collection system.
In this way, the City Council would contribute money both for companies that deal with public transport and for the budget. There would be no unnecessary expenses like paying a commission to an intermediary, which Apex was in fact in the process of running public transport in the capital of Serbia.
The City’s expenses would be further reduced if the cooperation with the private carriers was terminated, that is, if all public transportation were performed by one company under its jurisdiction, namely GSP “Belgrade”. In that case, the billing system could do what it did before.
Another solution would be to introduce completely free public transport, as it exists in many cities around the world. The necessary funds, which would allow the free transportation of passengers, would be acquired through the collection of taxes from private companies, extra taking advantage of the territory of the City. And there are many of them in Belgrade.
The question is, is it more important that City leaders offer citizens the most favorable variant of public transportation or that private companies make extra profit? What is the true public interest, it is easy to recognize.
Of course, the second option is a better solution for the citizens of Belgrade, but the most important thing at this point is that the City Council does not renew the contract with Apex or sign an equally damaging one with another private company.
