Se nell'europa occidentale il filobus sta più o meno rivivendo una seconda giovinezza, nelle tormentate repubbliche ex sovietiche il diffuso malaffare e il neoliberismo selvaggio rischiano di fare strame di una delle poche cose positive che Baffone aveva donato al mondo: il "trolìbàs".
la vicenda del deposito citata nell'articolo mi ricorda molto da vicino quella del deposito Aretina di Firenze, svenduto ai palazzinari, puah!
In response to power shortages caused by the bombed gas pipelines and electricity lines from Russia, the Tbilisi City Hall on Monday called for a temporary halt of trolleybuses in the center of Tbilisi - from Freedom Square to Vake.
It is reported the mayor's office has been planning to halt trolleybuses for some time and the energy crisis merely gave them pretence to implement the stoppage. In the newspaper Khvalindeli Dghe, Chair of Tbilisi's Transport Service Zurab Chikviladze states that the trolleybuses are using too much electricity, especially in at a time when the rest of the country is facing power cuts.
But there is another looming issue for Tbilisi's trolleybuses. Georgian media reports that on December 29, 2005, the American company SIS International Inc. agreed to buy the Saburtalo trolleybus depot from Tbilisi municipal government for USD 7.1 million. Reportedly the American company has already sent a letter to the Tbilisi municipality requesting a date to hold the next round of negotiations and finally sign a contract. In addition, the prospective buyer is interested if any third parties have legal rights to depot, which is located at the intersection of Kazbegi and Vasha Pshavela Avenues.
The privatization of the depot was followed with a protest of an estimated 600 workers on the trolley routes and maintenance yard. The Labor Party has aligned itself with the workers. Talking to Khvalindeli Dghe the Labor Party representative in the Tbilisi Sakrebulo Paata Jibladze claims the government is planning to stop trolleybus lines and in their place add more bus routes. "The abolition of the trolleybus lines will create ecological problems for the city but the hard conditions of socially unprotected citizens will become worse," he said.
Jibladze went on to accuse senior officials of personally benefiting from the changes. "As for establishing the new bus lines, the president's family controls this business. And after the trolleybus lines are abolished, they plan to increase the ticket price for buses from 20 to 40 tetri," he claimed. The Labor Party, a frequent and bombastic critic of the powers-that-be, also claimed that the real price of the 3 hectare depot is somewhere around USD 70 million.
But the government categorically rejects the party's accusations. They reject the claim that the government has any private interests in the privatization of the trolleybus depot.
City officials also highlight that the American company is going to build offices and residential buildings on the lot. As for the trolleybuses, City Hall reports they will be permanently stopped in the Tbilisi center and moved instead to service the suburbs. Officials add that subsidies for ticket prices will continued for public transportation.
Finally, Wednesday's heavy snows appeared to have granted the trolleybuses a temporary reprieve. As the snow sidelined many of the capital's large new buses, trolleybuses were back in action in the city center.
Mal voluto un'è mai troppo