Chisinau, December 22 (Infotag). Operators and drivers of mini-bus taxis have threatened to engage in protest should the government persist with the ban on converted mini-vans set to take force in January.

Speaking Wednesday at a news conference in Infotag Chairman of the Public Carriage Workers Association Eugen Datco agreed with the government in principle but said the actual deadline (1 January 2006) should be moved a bit farther.

“It is virtually impossible to replace all of these machines, accounting for up to 70% of ‘marshrutka’ fleet in Chisinau and 60% in the suburbs, by 1 January. Buying so many vehicles (in one go) would require a lump sum of 1.5 bln lei,” he reasoned.

“Each of the bus barns does everything it can to upgrade their fleet, but they can’t afford to buy more than three new vehicles a year.”

“Besides, the Moldovan roads are so bad that spending huge amounts on transport vehicles is pointless. It is much more feasible to convert the used freight vans because the passengers can’t tell the difference anyway,” Datco continued.

He assured that his colleagues aren’t anxious about the protesting and expressed hope that the government would heed their request and suspend the ban for two-three years.