Armen Poghosyan, President of the Consumers' Association, has penned an open letter to Prime Minister Sargsyan and Yerevan Mayor Karapetyan, complaining about the awful state of public transportation in the Armenian capital.

Mr. Poghosyan points out that the current aging fleet of microbuses in Yerevan is totally inadequate to handle the transportation needs of city passengers given their run-down condition and cramped quarters. (Some of these "mashkrutakas" are so tiny that people are forced to bend their hands and perform other feats of physical contortion just to fit in)

He states that increasing the number of regular buses is a stop-gap measure at best and that inefficient gas-guzzlers will not resolve the issue of exhaust fumes released into the atmosphere.

Mr. Poghosyan calls on the government to devise a long-term transportation strategy that centers on electric vehicles – trolley buses, light rail, etc.

The consumer advocate argues that such a program would cut back on gasoline consumption and rely on a commodity, electricity, which is domestically produced.