Political scientist Karen Vrtanesyan wrote on her Facebook page:
"The bad reforms and increase in the price of transportation in Yerevan cause terrible inconveniences to the citizens of Yerevan, big and small. But the Municipality of Nikolaev and Telsel managed to establish such an agenda. "It's hard, it's difficult, the system doesn't work normally, but you have to endure."
The public debate is limited to "how to adapt", no one challenges the statement, why should we adapt? Why shouldn't we be able to pay in cash?
Why do we have to go through confusing quests to use transport? Why should we pay 3 times more for using the transport in one go?
Why do I have to have a bank card and/or a smartphone to use the transport? And so on, so on... There is no realization that the municipality did not bring that transport system from "his father's" garage, and it is not doing us any favors by operating the transport.
The mayor holds that position not to enrich Telcel, but to keep Yerevan's infrastructure working smoothly and to serve the interests of the citizens.
What is the interest of Yerevan residents in these transport reforms? The increase in the price of transport is, in fact, a new type of tax imposed on the citizens of Yerevan. More precisely, it is a type of robbery, because there is no justification for the benefit of the residents of Yerevan, which results in dozens of additional inconveniences and increased costs.
