All bus lines of Osijek’s Panturist that were discontinued by the company’s management at the beginning of the week due to unprofitability and economic infeasibility will resume operations tomorrow, and discussions will continue next week to find a permanent solution to this problem, representatives of the Osijek-Baranja County and Panturist’s management reported on Wednesday evening.
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County Prefect Ivan Anušić stated at a press conference that such an agreement was reached during today’s discussions with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Infrastructure Oleg Butković, and the group “Arriva”, under which Panturist operates.
He added that next week representatives of the county, the government, and the company will continue discussions to stabilize public bus transport to prevent such occurrences in the future, as similar problems may arise in other counties. “We have agreed on some matters that I cannot yet discuss as they have not been defined, but the most important thing is that students, workers, and pensioners will no longer be in the situation they were in yesterday and today, but will be able to use public transport normally,” Anušić said.
Panturist’s management president Saša Ilić stated that he believes they have come closer to a final solution for public line transport in the county during today’s discussions with government and county leaders. He emphasized that Panturist will resume normal operations tomorrow and will continue to seek an optimal solution for the departure network and is ready to consider the possibility of introducing new lines where necessary.
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He assessed that all participants in the discussions are aware of the cause-and-effect relationship of negative demographic trends that reflect on the overall economy in the county and that it is in everyone’s interest to reach a final agreement in the coming days to ensure transport connectivity for passengers, jobs for citizens, and sustainable business for carriers.
In response to a journalist’s question about who will cover their losses given that they discontinued bus lines due to unprofitability, Ilić replied that they are negotiating with the county and the government about the model and amounts and how to resolve the current situation.
When asked to explain his recent claims that the demands of carriers for local government units to co-finance bus lines could be interpreted as a form of extortion, County Prefect Anušić stated that the abrupt cancellation of lines and departures paralyzes the entire system in the county and that he had to react in such a manner “if someone does this overnight”. He believes that Panturist should have informed the county and discussed before canceling the lines instead of canceling them first and then discussing.
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Ilić stated that they have communicated several times with the county and all five Slavonian counties in the past six months and that they have discussed this issue trying to find a solution.
This has become economically unsustainable for Panturist, so we have rationalized departures. We expect to quickly find a final solution and model to resolve the problem of public line transport in this county, Ilić said.
