TIRANA, Aug. 31 /ATA/ – Albanian public transport operators will reduce the number of buses in service by around 20-30% from September 1 because of financial difficulties and inadequate compensation for fuel costs, transport associations announced on Monday.
The National Urban Transport Association and the Urban and Interurban Transport Association notified the government, the Municipality of Tirana and the ministries responsible for infrastructure and the economy of the planned reduction in a letter.
“This is not a choice by operators, nor a lack of willingness to provide normal public transport services, but a direct consequence of their inability to cover the costs of operating their full fleets, particularly fuel costs,” the associations said.
Dashnor Memaj, chairman of the Public Transport Association, confirmed the measure to Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA).
The associations said high fuel prices and other operating costs had severely affected operators’ liquidity and that previous requests for fuel-cost compensation and institutional support had not received concrete responses.
They warned that the reduction would lead to less frequent services, longer intervals between buses and overcrowding, affecting passengers who rely on public transport daily.
The associations called on authorities to urgently implement fuel-cost compensation and address their other concerns, saying operators could no longer afford to run their full fleets under current conditions.
The government had earlier approved a 50 lek per litre reimbursement for diesel used by urban, intercity and suburban public transport companies. The measure covers fuel consumption in March, April and May 2026, capped at the amount consumed during the same period in 2025, according to a Council of Ministers decision.
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