Baku Metro triples fares

The current price at 0.05 manat was approved by the Baku City Administration in 1996.

"According to the decision of the Council, fare in the metro will increase from 0.05 to 0.15 manat. New tariffs will come into force starting from Oct. 1," the ministry said.

This decision was made at a meeting of the Tariff Council on September 30.

The Tariff Council says even after a change in the cost of travel in the metro the fares in the country are lower than other countries.

Currently, fare in the subway in Russia is 0.35 manat, Georgia - 0.19 manat, Ukraine - 0.16 manat, Belarus - 0.17 manat, Turkey - 0.8 manat.

"The need to revise subway fares was necessitated by an increase in prices on services and energy resources, improvement of quality of passenger services, including launch of new stations," the same source said.

Given that about 200 million people use subway a year, the Baku Metro expects to receive additional 20 million manat from the rise in tariffs. However, even with the current tariffs, Baku Metro can not cover operating costs, so it needs to be provided with extra funds from the public budget.

/Trend Capital/