Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic: Public transport from segregated housing estate will travel to and from one stop only starting tomorrow
As of Monday, 31 July, the Transit Authority of the City of Ústí nad Labem (DPMUL) is introducing measures which it believes will improve order and safety on trolleybus line 57, which serves the Mojžíř housing estate. The route will have just one stop and passengers will be allowed to enter the bus only through the doors at the front closest to the driver.
Transportation assistants and a local patrolman will be deployed to make sure the measures are upheld. According to the Transit Authority, the line has long been burdened by passengers trying to ride without paying and bus drivers have been refusing to be assigned there.
This measure is meant to improve the situation. “A general cleaning of those vehicles has to be undertaken practically after every trip. Drivers are facing aggression from passengers, Mojžíř passengers recently spat on one of our female drivers,” Mayor of Ústí nad Labem Petr Nedvědický said about the reasons for the planned steps.
City Hall had previously announced it plans to take advantage of the amendment known as “three times, you’re out”, thanks to which municipalities have the right to attach the welfare payments of persons found guilty of misdemeanors who then fail to pay the related fines. The Mojžíř housing estate will be served by trolleybus just to and from one stop in Ústí nad Labem, the Květ department store.
“I believe the decent passengers will appreciate traveling in a clean vehicle and in safety even if it means they have to make one more transfer to another bus to get to their destinations. The change will have almost no effect on residents in other parts of the municipal department,” explained the Mayor of the Neštěmice Municipal Department, Yveta Tomková (Vaše Ústí – Your Ústí).
Bus line 51 will still run elsewhere in Neštěmice and will be newly supplemented by bus line 58, which will shuttle between the Skalka and Klíše stops. “In order to eliminate as many passengers without valid travel documents as possible, all-day boarding via the front door will apply on the line [57]. Safety and order in the vehicles will be supervised by transportation assistants and a local police patrolman,” said the director of the DPMUL, Simona Mohacsi, adding that the vehicle will be equipped with a camera system.
Karel Karika: It’s important to adopt measures which do not lead to discrimination
Karel Karika, a local assembly member in Ústí nad Labem and chair of the Czechoslovak Romani Union, believes this complicated situation requires a sensitive solution that is well thought through. “There is no doubt that every citizen should have equal access to public transport and should not be discriminated against on the basis of nationality or social position. On the other hand, it’s clear the city has the duty to provide security and public order for all residents,” he commented.
“It’s apparent that the measures on the table will lead to altercations and conflicts between majority-society members and the Romani minority. The best solution would be to find a compromise that would respect the rights of all parties involved and facilitate safe, continuous transport for all citizens,” Karika went on to say.
“Experts on human rights and antidiscrimination policy should also express their perspectives on this matter. It’s important to adopt measures which will not lead to discrimination but which will, on the contrary, support the equal opportunities and rights of all citizens,” Karika said.
The Neštěmice Municipal Department has long been asking that Mojžíř passengers be required to enter through the front doors of buses only. It was not possible to do so under the previous schedule because the step would have disrupted the entire system of transportation and the timing of connections.
For that reason, the decision to shorten the line has been taken. There are as many as 2,700 residents living at the housing estate.
Most of the apartment units there are owned by housing cooperatives and individual landlords. The housing estate is in a socially excluded locality.
An excluded locality can be an entire city quarter, but it can also be just one street or even just one building where social problems are concentrated. The residents of such places are often a group of inhabitants with limited access to education or employment who also are usually frequently under collections proceedings.
