Buses or armored vehicles?

Recently, the new batch of buses recently acquired by the de facto municipal authorities seems to have escaped us all.

This issue was addressed for the first time in the “Ереванский урбанист” (“Yerevan Urbanist”) telegram channel.

And what is the problem in general? It seems that the importation of new vehicles seems to only contribute to solving the traffic problems. But deep problems remain unnoticed.

First of all, the transportation issue in Yerevan cannot be solved by this step. Yes, modernization of transportation is necessary, but it is necessary to do it logically. Instead of making deep transportation reforms, buying large buses, the de facto municipal authorities just brought in 376 additional vehicles without getting rid of the old Gazelles and small Hyundais.

Was it possible to buy more significant necessities with the same money? We think yes. For example, it was possible to purchase armored vehicles of almost the same cost, which are a priority for our army and border guard troops today. After all, many deaths could have been prevented with the purchase of armored vehicles. Today, our soldiers’ vehicles are not protected by even basic armor. If the cost of one “ZhongTong” bus varies within the limits of 139-140 thousand dollars, then the price of 2 such buses would equal the value of one “Iveco” brand armored car (274-280 thousand dollars).

There’s simply a problem of clearly stating the priorities. For the de facto authorities, it is more important to create the illusion of convenient urban traffic, when in the same sectors, for example, this problem remains unsolved, and when it comes to the modernization of the army and arsenal, either there are not enough funds, or there is a way, but there are no arms and ammunition seller.