Qyteti

How will the future of transport in Tirana be? Veliaj: The current service will be digitized

How will the future of transport in Tirana be? Veliaj: The current service will

There were two innovations that the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, highlighted as investments towards what he called the European Capital of Transport: The digitization of the current service, as well as the opening of two mega terminals for buses, which together with the railway line will they breathe life into mobility in Tirana.

Present at the "eTransport" forum, Veliaj said that in parallel with the modernization of these services, the municipality has also proceeded with subsidizing both citizens and urban transport operators in the capital, which, now with the introduction of the GPS system, becomes even more easy.

"We have broken a taboo by subsidizing public transport, but the context of the war in Ukraine required this intervention. In a global world, where we are all connected, you certainly feel the impact of the price of oil and fuel. One way was what we did in the Municipality of Tirana as a temporary choice, where every bus is fitted with a GPS and through this we subsidize the kilometers traveled, the accuracy and discipline of arriving at the station," said Veliaj.

The other, more important point, the mayor added, is the eastern bus terminal, which is nearing completion, as well as the terminal of other lines, for which, Veliaj said, after 27 trials, the municipality won the right to the construction of this new construction site.

"Starting next year, the Eastern Terminal will be used for all interurban transport in the southeast. Meanwhile, we have just won the 27th trial, - for all those who howl how the traffic in Tirana will be solved, when they had it in their hands, they let it be torn apart by people who had no connection to the land and the municipality's projects ended up in mortgages all kinds of speculators, - and finally the construction site at the bend of Kamza, the historical construction site for the west, south and north terminal will be opened. I believe that the megaterminal there, together with the services, since it is also near a communication node, will once and for all solve the interurban transport issues that enter Tirana," underlined Veliaj.

Kryebashkiaku i Tiranës tha se ndërkohë, ka filluar traseja e stacionit të trenit. Bëhet fjalë për një lidhje të terminalit perëndimor me Stacionin e Trenit, ku linja hekurudhore do të vazhdojë elektrike, apo siç quhet ndryshe “light rail”, pra hekurudha e lehtë, deri ku ka qenë ish-Stacioni i Trenit, tek fillimi i Bulevardit të Ri. “Duke pasur një platformë që na integron të gjitha sistemet, si ato që janë me binarë, hekurudhën, ashtu dhe ato mbi rrota, që janë autobusët dhe mjetet e tjera të transportit publik, unë besoj se kemi sot një sistem të integruar dhe mund të themi që, për sa i përket transportit, kemi edhe një Kryeqytet Europian të Transportit me një filozofi të tillë dhe me një hapësirë digjitale që na bashkon,” e mbylli Veliaj fjalën e tij.

The General Director of the General Directorate of Road Transport Services, Blendi Gonxhja, appreciated the support of the Municipality of Tirana. "No project at the national level would have value without the Municipality of Tirana. The municipality of Tirana is the center of Albania. We have 9.5 million travelers departing from this municipality", said Gonxhja. While the Minister of Tourism Mirela Kumbaro said that this year Tirana had a tourist boom, where the main age group was 20-25 years old. "We had 6.5 million foreigners in the country. Tirana this year has been a tourism boom and with young people. The age group, which was generally 50 and over, the tourists of Tirana this year were young people between 20 and 35 years old. All these indicate an increased public, mobility, the desire to move", said Kumbaro.