During September and October this year, the Ministry of Interior of North Macedonia (MOI) issued 527 fines due to technical irregularities of the vehicles that are used for transportation of passengers, informed MOI. During the given two month period, controls were conducted of vehicles used for public transportation (buses, taxi vehicles, vans) both between municipalities and the intercity transportation throughout the country.
The issued fines are in accordance with the Law on vehicles, where a fine in the amount of 400 EUR is issued to a driver who is running a vehicle that doesn’t meet the required demands for connecting the towing/additional vehicles, the braking system, and the tires. For legal entities, a fine in the amount of 2.000 EUR is issued if the vehicle that is used for transportation doesn’t meet the requirement for technical regularity and a fine in the amount of 500 EUR is issued to the person at the company that is responsible for the violation. MOI is issuing fines in the amount up to 120 EUR in MKD counter-currency to the driver who is running a vehicle that has no appropriate systems, accompanying parts, independent technical units, and equipment or if they are defective.
The control conducted by MOI of vehicles that are used for passenger transport is taking place during a period when Meta.mk news agency has been continuously writing about the condition of public transport’s rolling stock. The last data provided by RNM’s Customs Services indicate that during the period between January and September, 108 used buses and vans were imported against 38 new buses and vans. The new eco-friendly buses that arrived this spring for the Skopje’s public transport were also counted.
For years, the number of imported used buses is several times larger compared to the import of newly produced buses, which before arriving in North Macedonia have already passed enormous distances with their previous owners. The average age of the buses that were used last year in North Macedonia was 18.1 years.
The experts have already stressed that the average age of the vehicles is one of the parameters for the safety of vehicles used for transportation of passengers, but it is equally important how the vehicles are maintained, the sort of used spare parts, and how the use of the vehicles is organized and controlled. These parameters are extremely important for vehicles with an average age of 18 years, because that vehicle’s age and the traversed length during that period usually leads to a serious degradation of the vehicle’s systems, which if not maintained properly can seriously disrupt the vehicle’s safety.
