Dozens of bus routes have been canceled in Russia due to debts
In Novosibirsk, dozens of bus routes to cities in the Kemerovo Region have been canceled due to debts owed to bus companies. This affects routes to six cities, including Novokuznetsk, Prokopyevsk, and Sheregesh. The bus companies claim that the state-owned enterprise “Kuzbasspassazhiravtotrans” has not paid them for the services rendered.
In Novosibirsk, bus routes to cities in the Kemerovo Region have been canceled en masse. As a result, hundreds of passengers have been left without their usual means of transportation. The restrictions apply to routes to Novokuznetsk, Prokopyevsk, Kiselevsk, Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Belovo, and Sheregesh. According to the Novosibirsk bus station, the cancellations are in effect from September 29 through October 1. The list includes buses operated by several major carriers.
The reason is a conflict between the transportation companies and the state-owned enterprise “Kuzbasspassazhiravtotrans.” According to the carriers, it is this enterprise that was supposed to pay them for their services on routes to cities in Kuzbass. The carriers claim that they have not been paid for completed trips for quite some time.
Sergey Yermakov, founder of the company “Siberian Resource-Saving Technologies,” stated that payment issues began as far back as 2024. According to him, his company is currently owed about 20 million rubles. Yermakov also said that representatives of “Kuzbasspassazhiravtotrans” are not responding to inquiries and have not provided any explanation as to when the debts will be paid off.
As a result, the carriers have decided to suspend some of their routes. According to Yermakov, the companies “Sibavto” and “NSK-Avto” have also joined this initiative. For passengers, this means the effective suspension of service on a number of routes.
Tatyana Vodolazka, deputy director of “SibAlaskaTravel,” stated that hundreds of people use these routes every day. “Some are going on vacation, others are going to work. There are no buses, not a single trip,” she said. In other words, the problem affects more than just the carriers themselves. Due to the non-payment of funds, ordinary passengers have effectively lost the ability to travel normally to several major cities in the region.
According to representatives of the transportation industry, the total amount owed by “Kuzbasspassazhiravtotrans” to the four companies already amounts to about 100 million rubles. It is precisely this figure, according to the carriers, that has become one of the causes of the current conflict. At the same time, the company is state-owned and is funded, in particular, from the Kemerovo Region budget. The situation with the buses is unfolding against the backdrop of the region’s budget problems. According to the data provided, the Kemerovo Region’s budget deficit has exceeded 25 billion rubles.
At the same time, the region is increasing payments related to the recruitment of soldiers for the war against Ukraine. Because of this, the bus transportation issue has drawn additional attention. Formally, this is a matter of debts owed to transportation companies. But ordinary residents of Kuzbass, who have been left without buses, have already felt the consequences of this problem.
Until the carriers receive payment, some routes are not operating. The bus station has announced the cancellation of trips until at least October 1, but how the situation develops further will depend on whether “Kuzbasspassazhiravtotrans” is able to settle its debt. Thus, in Russia’s Kuzbass region, the financial conflict between the state-owned enterprise and the carriers has effectively turned into a transportation problem for the public. Dozens of trips have been canceled, and passengers are forced to find other ways to reach their destinations. NGS42 reports on this.
