Razmik Markosyan 

When the government in England (probably not only in England) initiates to plant greenery, they do not design the crossing passages through the greenery initially. After some time, the places on the grass where the pedestrians have walked are clearly outlined. Later they pave those “selected” places to make them favorable passages for population. In this way the citizens of developed countries directly take part in making decisions in their country. 

Our country is not so far from England as from a civilization in which the interests of the exploiter are taken into account when constructing, or the interests of the consumer are taken into account when producing, or in which the interests of a bearer of the consequences are taken into account while making decisions. Only the patience of our citizens is abused in our country. We can see numerous examples. Now I would like to speak of a problem which at first glance seems not so significant; I would like to talk about the quality of transport service of our city. The transportation of population provides our country’s life and quality of existence like blood flow, doesn’t it?

Great poet Paruyr Sevak would say: “count now…” how the people, who survived a Genocide, a strong earthquake, Great War and blockade but heroically remained steadfast, now can ply in the most humiliating conditions in their own country for many years.

It is known that the bus business in Yerevan belongs to the private sector. And it is clear that any kind of business is supervised by state structure. However this statement may not refer to the urban transport as it is not developed generally. It is simply supported by our citizens who continuously ply on feet.

Everyone knows what bowing symbolizes. This body movement, which is as old as subordination, means “I'm your subordinate”. In ancient times doors of the entrances to the governmental and religious buildings were constructed at waist-high height for people to bend while entering. And nowadays for many years the population of Yerevan has to bow unwillingly before the owners of transportation network, who, in the contrary, do not find it necessary to enlarge their business and add new comfortable vehicles with high-roof for people not to bow endlessly. 

If we take into consideration the fact that the students and working sector of the city are the main users of city transport, it becomes clear what attitude they may have towards their own city as they are the creators of our present day and future of our country. 

If anybody has ever counted how many times our citizens, who are under the permanent threat of war, survive psychological distress in the course of the day because of inconvenience of transportation service as they move from one destination to another with violated dignity, depressed spirit, hampering and hating each other? This awful situation is followed by the cynical display of the race of the urban transport when minibus taxis forgetting about their passengers, exceed the permitted speed and commit many other violations to outpace one another to take the potential passengers standing in the station... This “market competition” that constantly creates accident-risky situations is suspended neither by traffic police inspectors nor by control devices. Well, the owners of minibuses are respected and honored. But population… Meanwhile it is more than two decades since we have gained independence. If we were to compare; in the beginning of 1990s, in the conditions of complete absence of communication means, our citizens were in better psychological spirit. There was a kind of harmony at that time.

But now our citizens are obliged to make use of morally distressing small transport vehicles that drive along the avenues ploughing the new magnificent buildings. Moreover, these transport units are deprived of any kind of hygiene conditions, in which the passengers are standing nose - a nose, bending their backs, and even if they are used to these conditions and do not even realize that they are being ridiculed by those whom they pay, even when they are obliged to find a place for the twenty fifth passenger in the minibus for thirteen people, but even then one day they will give up to their wounded subconsciousness. But the conditions that have become ordinary for our citizens can be appropriate only in emergency situations.

By the way, next to the announcement informing about the permissible number of passengers one can see another ignored note fixed on the minibus walls. The note announces about the driver’s smoking ban which is often neglected either. This law is ignored not only by the drivers and traffic policemen but by the passengers also who never ban the driver to smoke meanwhile they have the right to. But what law can people think about when they are always moving with their heads bowed?

Well, now how you want to import foreign programs, the so-called “training programs” from foreign countries to civilize and prepare our citizens for the 3rd millennium challenges. They still will have to use the urban transport and all your efforts and money imported from foreign countries will be lost. Our citizens will return to the habit of sharing the seat in minibus with someone else.

Meanwhile, it doesn’t take too much effort from our enterprising businessmen to organize adequate transportation for the citizens. But if they are not eager to organize proper urban transportation, in this case the government should assign tasks to them and require correcting the situation in specified period of time (as it was done in the case of seat belts). They can even use the improving of the transport service quality in the coming elections to strengthen their propaganda campaign. 

But there is another solution: maybe people should organize the same kind of detrimental transportation for the owners of buses. Let the owners of bus business wait in the stop missing several buses and after getting nervous somehow get on the next minibus to go to the desired destination standing in the amalgamation of various smells, smoke and strange music, and later ask the fortunate passenger who has managed to sit, “where we have reached, I cannot see anything?”.   

This will be the Armenian variant of participation in the making decisions as the citizens of England do it by trampling down the grass in the convenient places for them.  And only then the businessmen and the relevant supervisory bodies, perhaps, will have to respect their citizens who have not finally lost their dignity and health.