Over a month ago the COVID-19 restrictions were eased in Turkmenistan and transportation service between the regions was resumed. However, a limited number of flights and trains does not meet the increasing demand.
As previously reported, dealers take advantage of the shortage of train tickets to resell them at a price which is four times higher.
There is also a shortage of flights. On 23 June passengers who had tickets for an Ashgabat-Turkmenabat flight were removed from the passenger list and their seats were handed over to a group of athletes.
The passengers got a refund for an official price of the tickets but those who needed to urgently get to Lebap faced some problems. Trains from Ashgabat to Turkmenabat run only at the start of the week.
There are also problems with intercity bus service.For example, buses from Mary, Bairamali and Tejen depart not from the new terminal located in the northern-eastern area of Ashgabat but from the village of Gyavrus, 30 kilometers from the capital.
In addition, passengers and bus drivers complain that the bus station is not properly equipped with amenities.There is no departure lounge or even benches and sheds.The booking office does feature working hours.
Moreover, there is no available timetable for buses and bus fares.
There are also no signs for buses and passengers who have purchased ticket have to look for the right bus. When all passengers who have tickets occupy their seats a driver takes 10 to 15 people more on board without asking them to show IDs or tickets.
A booking clerk informs of ticket prices for different destinations only before they start selling the tickets. The bus fare may change during the day. It is not clear what factors affect the price. When a correspondent of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” was at the bus station, the bus ticket to Mary cost 40 manats.
When purchasing tickets passengers are required to show their passports despite the fact that neither the destination nor the seat number is indicated in the ticket.
“One gets the impression that no preparatory work has been conducted before resuming the bus and service and it has been done hastily”, the correspondent of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” says.
On 2 July the news outlet Turkmenportal reported that the number of domestic flights had been increased.The post Passengers barred from boarding the plane to give their seats to athletes; buses to eastern provinces depart from the village in the suburbs of Ashgabat first appeared on Chronicles of Turkmenistan.