Sofia Mayor Calls for Resignation of Municipal Transport Chief

Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev has called for the resignation of the director of Stolichen Avtotransport (the public bus transport company of Bulgaria’s capital Sofia) saying the decisions being taken by the company are costing the city dearly without delivering better services for residents.

In a post on Facebook on February 10, Mr Terziev said that an interim management team was signing contracts worth tens of millions of leva that would extend beyond its term of office.

“An interim leadership is signing contracts worth tens of millions that will outlive the scope of this term of office. Without proper control. We are paying commissions to intermediaries, even though the company has the right to purchase gas directly. Eighteen-year-old, worn-out buses are being bought at several times their real value. Over the past year, 8,000 litres of fuel leaked away and no one took responsibility,” the mayor wrote.

He warned that the outcome of such practices was clear: higher costs, the same or even poorer quality of service, and public transport that does not match the city people want to live in.

“That is why I insist on two things: a change in the management of Stolichen Avtotransport and an independent audit of all transport companies, so we can clearly see where the money is going and what we are getting in return,” Terziev added.