Bus line to Dumnica village stopped, residents seek solution

For two months, the village of Dumnica, about seven kilometers from Podujevo, has been left without public transportation, after the private bus on this line stopped operating. Residents are facing great difficulties in traveling to the city. The Municipality of Podujevo says that for now they cannot find a solution to this problem.

Elda Islami

Students from the village of Dumnica, which is about seven kilometers from the city of Podujevo, are facing a lack of transportation to continue their studies in the city.

For two months, the private bus that used to circulate on this line has been stopped, leaving all the residents of this area without a solution.

Sevdail Azemi, a resident of the village, says that the lack of transportation is causing great difficulties for families in this area.

"There is a problem for children, they have to transport them in their own cars. Dumnica has 600 houses and there is no transportation, no bus, this has never happened after the war. But how is it not problematic that people are at work, busy with their own work, they have to lose their jobs. They have to give up transportation, buses, they have buses for students," said Azemi.

The owner of the private company "Leli Trans", Blerim Topanica, says that the reason for the interruption of the line's operation is related to financial difficulties and, as he puts it, to competition from illegal taxis.

According to Topanica, although they received support from the Municipality of Podujeva, this was not enough to keep the line functional.

"There is no work for me there, there is no work for me and for illegal taxis. I have talked to the municipality several times, they have no way to remove those illegal taxis. The mayor has helped us with 500 euros for me and some other companies with 500 euros each month until the new year. Even those four months were almost 0-0. I went to Bahriu again, I talked, but they told me that there is no budget. I do not have minimum conditions, I will not work there under any conditions. I applied, I did not receive the permit because the needles were not made", said Topanica.

The Director of Public Services, Bahri Selimi, states that the Podujevë-Dumnica line is considered one of the most problematic, due to the small number of residents in that area.

"The Podujevë–Dumnica bus line is one of the most problematic lines, this is due to the economically unsustainable line, where the number of residents is small. We have also insisted with other private operators, who have lines in other parts of our municipality, to offer you this line, but everyone who does the financial calculations turns out that it is not profitable and this is the reason that there are no other operators interested," said Selimi.

As for the illegal taxis, which the operator "Leli Trans" complained about, the municipality says they are unmanageable.

Selimi announced that in addition to the line to Dumnica, there are also problems with public transport in the villages of Repë and Sibovc.