Public transport tickets could be set to increase in price as Albanian consumers continue to feel the pinch caused by the global energy crisis.
The Urban and Interurban Transport Association warned on Friday (8 October) that the increase in oil prices is a significant blow to the sector, which is still struggling to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We ask the government to reduce VAT from 20% to 6% and remove the turnover tax, which is an unfair tax at 27 lek per litre, as we are a sector in the service of citizens,” said Dashnor Memaj, president of the Association.
He continued that the price of oil has increased by more than 10% over the last two weeks. This resulted in higher costs for operators of at least 25 million ALL ( EUR 206,042).
While noting that they don’t want to increase the ticket price for citizens, Memaj said the government should intervene to keep the price of oil at a reasonable level.
The Association said they will wait until 15 October, and if there is no response from the government, they will take further action, including raising ticket prices.
