The one-week increase in the price of oil in the country, due to the outbreak of war in the Middle East, is also affecting the costs of private urban transport operators.
In a letter from the National Association of Public Transport addressed to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, the General Directorate of Taxes and municipalities, operators raise concerns about the increase in costs due to the increase in the price of diesel by 45 to 50 lek per liter within 1 week.
The association demands that measures be taken to assess the situation and consider the possibility of providing compensation for the increase in the price of diesel, otherwise operators will be forced to reduce the number of buses in operation.
According to operators, the price of oil, until February 27, was 142 to 145 lek with VAT (this is the wholesale supply price for transport operators from the supply in Porto Romano to wholesale hydrocarbon points). Currently, operators are being supplied at a price of 187 lek with VAT. The price for almost 1 week has increased by 42 to 45 per liter with VAT.
"The National Association of Urban Transport and the Association of Urban and Interurban Transport would like to bring to your attention a very serious issue that is currently affecting public transport operators and that is directly related to the significant increase in operating costs, mainly fuel. Public transport constitutes a service of high public interest and an important element of the functioning of urban and interurban life. Operators that provide this service face a series of operating costs every day, among which fuel constitutes one of the main items of expenditure.
An analysis of fuel supply invoices from public transport operators shows that the price of oil has increased significantly over the recent period.
Specifically, the supply invoices show that before the start of the recent price crisis, the price of oil supply for operators was around 145 lek/liter. In the most recent invoices, the supply price results in an increase of 45-50 lek more.
Considering that public transport operators carry out such supplies several times a month to cover daily urban/interurban activity, this increase translates into a very significant increase in monthly and annual operating costs.
In this situation, the National Association of Public Transport requests that institutions take measures to initiate subsidies or compensation for the price of oil for transport operators.
"Regarding the above, we request from the relevant institutions:
1. Assessment of the current situation and the impact that the increase in fuel prices has on the operating costs of public transport.
2. Examination of the possibility of applying compensatory or subsidized mechanisms for fuel used by public transport operators.
3. Assessment of the possibility of direct fuel subsidies for the public transport sector or the creation of a special support mechanism for this public service”, the letter states.
In 2022, due to the increase in oil prices following the start of the Ukraine-Russia war, the government decided to reimburse transport companies with 100 lek per liter for oil consumed in the months of August-September-October. This measure began to be implemented on November 1, 2022.
This was the second anti-crisis package that was implemented to help the sector. The same package was used to reimburse oil for the months of March-April-May 2022. While for the months of June and July, urban transport as a whole suffered from the increase in costs due to the increase in oil prices, as there was no subsidy. In August, operators warned of the termination of the subscription if the government did not take measures./Monitor.al/
