The dynamic or interval timetable, which should start to be implemented from 2025, implies that only the first few morning and the last few evening departures have an exact time. This favors private carriers, not citizens
The mayor of Belgrade, Aleksandar Šapić, announced that a new, dynamic timetable will be introduced from 2025, which met with disapproval from both the profession and citizens.
"Such a schedule favors private transporters, but does not benefit citizens," Ivan Banković, a traffic engineer and president of the Trade Union Center in the City Transport Company (GSP), told Vreme.
The dynamic or interval timetable implies that only the first few morning and last few evening departures have a specific time.
This further means that all departures in between are not exactly determined, but they are coordinated with the traffic conditions, which concretely means that when the driver comes to the turnpike, he rests for five minutes, which is a legal break, and then starts back.
According to Banković, this will cause "complete chaos":
"The only interest of the City of Belgrade in introducing an interval timetable is that, if there is no strict timetable and defined departures, then citizens cannot complain that a vehicle did not go according to the timetable." It is actually an acknowledgment of what citizens see - that things in city traffic do not work. Therefore, it would be necessary to focus on the solution of the problem".
Not all vehicles can be controlled even now
It reminds of the existing situation, which the citizens of Belgrade feel on their own skin every day - in the peak load, i.e. in the hated rush hour, city transport on the lines that pass through the city center cannot stick to the planned timetable, because the vehicles need more time than planned to arrive from the starting point to the final stop.
Banković points out that the solution to the problem cannot be to abolish the existing one and switch to an interval timetable, but that it is necessary to deal with the causes of the problem and better functioning of public transport and traffic flow, which would bring reliability and accuracy.
"Even in the current situation, when there is a timetable, not all carriers and all vehicles can be controlled, primarily private carriers, but also GSP." Only seven or eight dispatchers work in the Secretariat for Public Transport, in the operational control center, which is the heart of city traffic management. "That number of people cannot escort so many vehicles, so the city traffic system cannot be fully managed even now, let alone leave it to drivers and transporters," warns Banković.
Union proposals
He reminds that the trade unions in GSP proposed four measures to improve public transport, one of which implies maximum control of the use of the yellow lane, which means that no one can be in it except vehicles with priority, i.e. city transport vehicles.
It was also suggested that the length of the yellow strip be extended and introduced wherever there are conditions for it and where there are more urban transport lines.
The fourth measure would be to give priority to public transport vehicles at traffic lighted intersections through adaptive control, i.e. through the possibility for traffic lights to recognize when a public transport vehicle is approaching the intersection and open the green light earlier from that direction, which is especially important for trams.
Banković adds that, in addition to all that, it is necessary to provide spare buses at the terminus where this is possible, which could be included in the traffic if several vehicles break down on a line or the driver does not come for a shift or in the event of a long stoppage in traffic.
"It costs money, but if you want to provide citizens with quality and reliable service, you have to invest in it." It is better to invest in it than to have such a loss of time, because every minute citizens lose in traffic is a direct economic loss, because you could have done something else during that time. Not to mention the fact that that time could have been used much better privately instead of citizens waiting in queues during traffic jams," says Banković.
Who benefits from the new timetable
Who, then, if not the citizens, is responsible for the new timetable, which Šapić announced?
"Abolition of the timetable will benefit private carriers, that is, the consortium of private carriers 'BG bus transport', which received 84 lines of city transport in September, which is a deal worth 1,34 billion euros. By abolishing the existing timetable, their implementation will be measured differently and private carriers will no longer have such pressure to make all departures," says Banković.
He is sure that the consortium "BG bus transport" will use the first opportunity to increase the price of services, which according to the contract they are entitled to after six months, and in accordance with the official inflation rate.
How we came to the dynamic timetable
Before the idea of abolishing the existing one and establishing a dynamic timetable, private carriers requested to change the contract they concluded with the City of Belgrade in September of this year.
The contract was concluded for 10 years and it stipulates that the "BG bus transport" consortium will be paid exclusively per effective kilometer, i.e. for each kilometer traveled by the bus with passengers.
"This means that when the bus is broken, or goes from the garage to the turnpike and vice versa, the private carrier is not paid." "Private carriers have realized that it is not profitable for them on the lines that pass through the city center, because if the bus stops during peak hours, they cannot make a profit from that vehicle," explains Banković.
That is why private individuals asked the City of Belgrade to change the calculation methodology, that is, to create a formula according to which, along with every kilometer traveled, the lost time that the vehicle spends on the route would also be paid for.
"That was abandoned because it would be a violation of the Law on Public-Private Partnerships and Concessions, since you cannot conclude a contract according to one methodology, and then after 40 days ask to be paid differently," says Banković.
Negative reactions of citizens
According to the numerous comments on portals and social networks, it is clear that the citizens understood very well what the intention of the City and private carriers was, so Banković states that the reactions are quite stormy and negative.
"The bottom line is that citizens will not be able to plan their trips and their time, but will have to come and stop at the bus stop and wait for the bus according to the principle 'when it comes - it comes.' "With a dynamic timetable, there will certainly be fewer departures of private transport vehicles per day than there should be, especially since there is abuse even now, with the existing timetable," says Banković.
He asks who will guarantee citizens that private transporters will not send empty vehicles into traffic, because an empty bus consumes much less fuel than when transporting passengers.
"Who will guarantee that three buses on the same line will not depart from the terminus at the same time, that they will go like a train?" "We have that on many lines now, so one vehicle is full, another is half-empty, and the third has one passenger," says Banković.
Open issue of abuses
He reiterates that with the existing capacity, the Secretariat for Public Transport cannot monitor the operation of every public transport vehicle and do everything to send another vehicle when there is a stoppage. In addition, the issue of abuses and irregularities is also open.
"It would be incorrect to claim that all drivers will abuse the dynamic timetable." The union is actually fighting for drivers who work responsibly, but among the more than 5000 drivers who work, it is quite certain that there will be those who are not the most conscientious, especially among private carriers, because in GSP there are services that deal with control and which will sanction those who try to abuse the job. In addition, most of the lines maintained by GSP have dispatchers, which is not the case with private companies. Everything that does not necessarily make the wheel turn is a pure surplus for them," concludes Banković.
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