MEETING OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON ROAD TRANSPORT

A meeting of the Subcommittee on Road Transport of the Committee for Logistics and Transportation of the Presidium of the NCE RK “Atameken” was held.

 The meeting reviewed the implementation of the "Set of Measures for the Development of Passenger Transportation in Road Transport", measures of state support for carriers of interregional, international transportation and bus stations, problematic issues in the market for international road transport of passengers and luggage, etc.

The issues of road transportation, which are of a systemic nature, were discussed by representatives of the Transport Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, NCE Atameken, STK KAZLOGISTICS, regional associations of international road carriers.

 One of the key problems is the subsidization of socially significant routes, which is a legislative obligation of local executive bodies (LEBs). In 2020, the “Complex of measures for the development of passenger transportation in road transport” was approved.

According to Altai Ali, Deputy Chairman of the Transport Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, over the past 4 years, the volume of subsidies has increased by 5%, amounting to more than 100 billion tenge. At the same time, more than 80% falls on the cities of republican significance: Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Shymkent.

The increase in subsidies is hampered by the lack of funds from local budgets. Therefore, a proposal was submitted to the Ministry of Economy to allocate funds for subsidizing from the republican budget. Requirements for bus drivers may be reduced, and the Ministry of National Economy will consider allocating additional funds to subsidize socially significant routes to individual regions.

During the meeting, Sabit Amanbayev, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Road Transport, General Director of the Union of Motor Transport Workers of Kazakhstan, spoke on problematic issues of subsidizing carriers. Chairman of the ALE “Association of ATP of Karaganda region” Ainitdin Buralkin shared the most acute problems of regional carriers.

 There is an acute issue of updating the bus fleet on city routes, where 10.7 thousand buses are currently involved, the wear of which has approached 46%. As full subsidies are secured, the carrier will be able to upgrade its fleet. Recall that within the framework of the preferential leasing program for 2018-2021, about 79 billion tenge was allocated from the republican budget and 2,283 buses of domestic assembly were delivered.

There are also problems with staffing, namely the shortage of drivers for city buses. One of the reasons cited is the high requirements for obtaining a category D. Simplification of this requirement requires amendments to the laws on traffic and motor vehicles. This issue has been repeatedly considered at the level of government leadership. The deputies initiated legislative amendments in terms of reducing the age for obtaining category D from 25 to 22 years and their work experience in category D1 from 3 to 1 year.

To suppress illegal transportation, the rapid development of digital technologies creates conditions for persons who are not official carriers to engage in transportation. Within the framework of the comprehensive plan of measures to combat the shadow economy, approved by the Government, a working group consisting of interested experts has been created, whose powers will include work to counter and suppress illegal transportation, Altai Ali noted.

Leonid Kushnerov, General Director of the Association of Passenger Transport Carriers, Bus Stations and Bus Stations of the Kostanay Region, raised a problem in international transportation, when the Russian side requires the installation of online cameras in buses entering the Russian Federation.

Representatives of regional bus stations voiced the problematic issues of illegal carriers.

On March 31, 2022, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan approved a plan of organizational measures for the development of international freight traffic, which provides for the exemption of tractors from the initial registration fee and the reduction of salvage fees until 2028, expanding the geography of transportation, increasing the levels of fines for foreign carriers that commit violations.

At the end of 2021, the volume of international road transport amounted to 5.9 million tons, which is 20% higher than last year. Of the total cargo turnover, 31%, or 1.8 tons, was transported by domestic carriers.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in 2022, 42 countries received more than 40 thousand units of permits. Taking into account the current geopolitical situation in the world, the need of Kazakhstani carriers for permit forms to European and other countries has sharply increased. An agreement was reached to increase the quota for the exchange of permit forms with Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan and Slovakia, as well as a number of European countries.

The Baza application was presented at the meeting. Its goal is to develop the cargo transportation market by bringing together all its participants and providing innovative services. It is a feature rich, multi-tasking smartphone app that connects carriers and businesses. The application is designed to create a unified digital system in the field of logistics and cargo transportation.