Elementary school students from three schools get free transport, Centrotrans ready for all lines in hillside areas

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - More than two hundred elementary school students from Stari Grad will have free school transport this school year to Hrid, Sedrenik and Obhodža. The students will travel to their schools in new, modernly equipped Centrotrans buses, which were presented today on the plateau in front of the Stari Grad Municipality building.

The agreement on free school transport was signed by the Mayor of Stari Grad Municipality, Ibrahim Hadžibajrić, and the director of the company Centrotrans Eurolines, Safudin Čengić. The vehicles are adapted for hillside areas, air-conditioned, equipped with cameras, and one vehicle has a ramp for access for persons with disabilities. The necessary procedures were carried out by the Stari Grad Municipality based on the requests of the elementary schools "Mula Mustafa Bašeskija", "Šejh Muhamed efendija Hadžijamaković", and "Vrhbosna". Approximately 300,000 KM will be allocated for transport, and the funds will be reimbursed by the KS Ministry of Transport.

Transport for these students is provided because they live at a great distance from their schools, and public city transport is not operational on these routes, making it difficult for them to get to classes. On the occasion of the start of the new school year, minibuses will provide free transport to citizens on 13 lines all day. 

The same vehicles could soon transport other citizens of this municipality living in the hillside parts of the city, if the Government of Sarajevo Canton finally allows Centrotrans to operate on the lines previously covered by Gras, and amends the legal regulations. According to the Mayor, Ibrahim Hadžibajrić, the Stari Grad Municipality and the Municipal Council have done everything to resolve this pressing issue, but the key to the solution lies with the Government of Sarajevo Canton and the KS Ministry of Transport. No one from the Ministry was present at the signing of the agreement today.

- Today we saw ten of the newest and most modern vans, some of which are equipped with a special entrance for children with special needs. The same vans have been procured for all van lines in the Stari Grad municipality. I truly hope and believe that they will be put into service for our citizens very soon. I repeat, regular city transport lines to the hillside parts of Stari Grad absolutely do not depend on the Stari Grad Municipality, but exclusively on the KS Ministry of Transport. Unfortunately, the ball is often passed to us and other municipalities, and we have absolutely nothing to do with regulating city transport - said Hadžibajrić.

A few months ago, the Government of Sarajevo Canton was asked to remove KJKP "Gras" from the minibus lines in Stari Grad and assign them to Centrotrans. As confirmed by Safudin Čengić, director of the company Centrotrans Eurolines, this was done, however, the company Gras filed a complaint against that decision, and the situation has not been resolved to this day.

- Based on discussions with the municipal leadership and the conclusion of the Stari Grad Municipal Council, we carried out the procurement of modern minibuses adapted for passenger transport in hillside areas, and in Stari Grad, there are 13 regular lines. Our minibuses are absolutely adapted for this type of transport and meet all safety criteria, so we are capable of providing the highest quality service to the citizens of Stari Grad. We hope that this complaint situation will be resolved by the end of next week, and even if it is not, Centrotrans is ready to start operations - stated Čengić.

Čengić said that with free transport on September 3rd, they want to show citizens that they deserve quality transport with modern and regular vehicles. 

Some of the students who will use the school transport attended today's contract signing and the promotion of the new vehicles. Among them was twelve-year-old Bećir Karišik, a seventh-grade student at Elementary School "Mula Mustafa Bašeskija", for whom the vehicle that will transport students to this school is equipped with a special ramp for access for persons with disabilities. The transport will mean a lot to him, and as the first passenger of the new Centrotrans Eurolines vehicle, this boy, an excellent student and class president, was rewarded with free tickets for all destinations he wishes to travel to with this company.