Drivers didn't protest, but cyclists did.

The big news is that the strike of the public transport drivers was cancelled. They had a deal for salary increase. The municipality and the government had no option but to agree. If there were a strike, the whole capital would have been blocked and all citizens would have been very dissatisfied with their refusal.
Well, 200 leva (including taxes and social insurance payment) isn't much in my opinion, but yet if this is what the drivers want, then it's OK.
I just don't see why people always rely on the municipality and the government? Perhaps that's the easiest way??? In my opinion the better option would have been to stress more on advertisement spaces. It's an area not developed enough and the public transport company could make much more profit than now.

There wasn't a strike of the drivers, but there was a protest of the cyclists. I happened to be exactly on the spot where they gathered and started their protest: at NDK. They wanted more cycling areas in the city. One of the slogans was: "We don't stop the traffic", adressing the just-cancelled strike of the drivers.
Generally, there are almost no such areas in the city. The only ones are around NDK, but it's definitely not enough. When there are pedestrians walking over the lines or cars parked on the sidewalk, they have no option but to ride in the street...there's no need to mention that streets are dangerous for cyclists.

I totally agree with their demands. When boulevards are being reconstructed, plans should include larger sidewalks with lines for cyclists. Of course, the latter won't happen in the centre. The streets are too narrow for cycling areas. But the newest boulevards which connect the centre with the suburbs are a good option for this. Wouldn't it be nice to travel to work by bike...? :)

The capital to be paralyzed

The big news is that on 15th of May all public transport drivers are planning a strike. They will demand for higher salaries and, of course, will continue blaming both the state and the municipality for the low level of salaries.
What's the story behind: there's an argue between state and municipality about financial issues concerning public transport companies. As they are public, they depend mostly on the subsidies of the state and the municipality. Some of them make huge losses which are covered by these subsidies. There is a regulation for state- and municipality-owned companies which defines the conditions for salary increases. If the company is making losses, the salaries are not increased. Another very important point is the decision for financial decentralization which allows all municipalities in Bulgaria to receive the major part of the collected local taxes. For the municipality of Sofia this is a huge income. Apart from that majorly the municipality is financially responsible for the public transport companies. In our case - for Sofia Public Transport Company (SKGT).
Well now, here we have a stike planned, the drivers will protest mainly against the state. As mentioned above, not the state but the municipality has the biggest responsibility for SKGT.
Reading between the lines: the mayor of Sofia - Boyko Borisov - is using any opportunity to play dirty games against the government (well, the opposite happens as well).
In our case the state is within its right.
Whether the salaries are really low and drivers deserve more or not, here we have two major issues.
1. Typically, institutions blame each other instead of showing real results.
2. Sofia will be completely paralyzed on May 15th.
There are more than a half million cars in Sofia. This means that probably about 600 000 citizens will be able to get wherever they want to.
Taxis are about 20 000, which means that other 100 000 people would be able to go wherever they want to.
Route taxis will be available: other 20 000 people.
Youngest and oldest usually don't go out: probably about 200 000 people.
And the rest? more than 300 000 people? I hope I don't exaggerate. Even if I'm mistaken about the number, I'm sure that the ones that will be imacted the most are the pensioners and the students. Also employed but without a car. Like me.
Another problem will be that everyone who has a car will use it - unlike normal situations when sometimes public transport is used.

So, let's sum up:
- more traffic jams
- pure luck to get a taxi
- pure luck to get inside a route taxi (marshrutka)

=>It will be a very exciting Tuesday.

If I can, I'll make updates with photos.

Update about the underground of Sofia

Only a few days ago I was walking in the streets of the centre of Sofia and passed by one of the construction sites of the underground. The place is at the University of Sofia, map here.
The more the construction progresses, the wider area of the park is being destroyed. When the excavation work began it was said that all trees in this area would be moved to a safer place and then returned to their original growing spot. Hopefully the promise would be kept.
Now even the statues which are part of the complex of the Monument of the Soviet Army are within the construction site, but I guess they remain untouched.
I think that the group of people impacted the most by the construction (in negative way) are the skaters and bladers who use the space in front of the monument for practising. But I guess they can be patient as long as the project is finished. Soon they'll be able to use the underground to travel to their favourite gathering spot directly from their homes at the other side of the city.
It is said that this station (University of Sofia "St. Kliment Ohridski") would be the busiest one.
We'll see on November. :)

The new escalators at the Main Train Station

The Main Train Station has been a typical reminder of the architecture from the communist era: massive and grey.

When I was a child I used to pass through the station with my parents and I remember the old brown escalators still working. I also remember that I really enjoyed standing on the steps and reaching the top without any efforts.

At that time the escalators stopped working one by one. The early 90's were tough years when state property was devastated, and the state didn't have the capacity to take care of its equity. So the Main Train Station slowly turned into an ugly reminder of the past times with its dark, stinky corners, greasy benches and homeless dogs. The escalators' colour became darker and darker, dust and rubbish irreversably damaged the mechanisms and they turned just into dangerous alternative of the stairs.

The reconstruction of the front part of the train station began in the early autumn of 1999. It's been in progress since then. The front square is owned and managed by the Municipality of Sofia which probably is the main factor for it's reconstruction. The building of the train station itself is owned by the state. For a long time there have been huge arguments between municipality and state concerning the status of the whole complex (building and square), but almost no progress.

I was happy to notice that some progress has been made in the modernization of the building itself. Apart from other minor improvements, probably the biggest one has been the replacement of the old escalators. Since 2006 half of them have been replaced and the first few are already running!

The underground under construction

This is a part of the soon-to-be-opened line of the underground from Serdika station to Mladost district. It's in front of the International Trade Center of Interpred, on the crossroad of Dragan Tzankov blvd. and F.J. Curie blvd. At this very place the trains would emegre above the ground. A special coverage is made over the tracks so that the inside would be protected from severe weather conditions, and the near blocks and houses would be protected from the noise from the trains passing by.

The underground construction has started in the 1970's and since then not a single complete line has been opened. Most of the construction was made in the 1990's. Currently the line in construction is the one which is aimed to connect the two biggest districts of Sofia: Luilin and Mladost. Named "cities within the city", they provide shelter to probably 1/3 of the inhabitants of Sofia. Currently the underground is opened only from Obelya (a district close to Liulin) to the city centre at St. Nedelya square (Serdika station). Since last year the other part of the line has been in construction: from Serdica station to Mladost district. Luckily, a huge part of it is already built in the 1970's and 1980's. The toughest and most delicate part of the construction is the part between Serdika station and the University of Sofia. It's exactly underneath the core of the city centre, the so-called "Largo". Under the ground there are the remains of the old Roman city of Serdica, so the tunnel should be much deeper than the part from Liulin to the centre. Even now a part of the old city walls are integrated within one station: Serdika (named after the old city).

At the time I'm writing this post the construction is still in progress. Most of the coverage of the track is placed; the part above the ground is almost finished and now the place where the trains would again go underground is in construction: the crossing of Dragan Tzankov blvd. and G.M. Dimitrov blvd. It's also the most recent traffic jam spot in Sofia.

The next stations to be opened are University of Sofia "Kilment Ohridski", "Dragan Tzankov" and "Interpred". Expectedly and hopefully till the end of 2007.

More info: the official website of "Metropolitan Sofia"

Transportation

The transport to and in the city is quite an experience. Buses, trolley buses, trams, route taxis (marshrutka) are the most common means of public transport here. The underground is also popular, although it still covers only a small part of the city - from Liulin to the centre.

Trams are the most distinctive means of transport of Sofia - the capital is the only place in Bulgaria where trams are used. They vary in models, colours and...age. My favourites are the ones which are used only for lines 1 and 7 because of the modern outlook and fast and smooth movement. Unfortunately they are among the dirtiest trams.





One of the busiest bus lines is line 280: from the University of Sofia to Student's town (Studentski grad). During most of the day it's very difficult to close the doors because of the huge crowd inside. At Pliska station everyone wants to go inside, and some people even risk falling out of the bus as the doors can't be closed because of them standing on the steps.

The most dangerous means of transport is undoubtedly the marshrutka. They first appeared about 10 years ago when the public transport was in a very poor condition, while people needed to reach the other part of the city quickly. With the improvement of living standards the pace of living also increased and citizens of the capital have been the ones mostly in a hurry in Bulgaria. So the marshrutka was born. Nowadays there are more than 30 lines: some of them cover almost 100% of existing bus, tram or trolley bus lines but their existance is certain because of one single fact: quickness. This inevitably means risky driving. Marshrutka drivers are among the most dangerous drives in Sofia. Most often the passengers would almost fall from their seats or feel dizzy after sitting in the minibus. But sometimes, as I felt it myself, passengers even get overdoses of adrenaline because of the crazy driving. One day I was sitting in marshrutka number 20. The driver saw a huge traffic jam ahead and instead of getting stuck into it and being behind the schedule, he decided to turn left and pass through...the meadows between the opposite lines!

There are also means of transport that have never moved but have had passengers though. One year ago I saw this small train in a small park near Evlogi Georgiev blvd. Probably it's been an amusement place for children once. Now it's a gathering place for all kinds of creeping creatures, plants and also a rain drops collector. Or another practicing area for graffitti artists.