Bus drivers' salaries in Vladivostok to be raised to 135,000 rubles

The salaries of drivers at the municipal enterprise «VPO PAT No. 1» in Vladivostok will be increased to 135,000 rubles per month (approx. $1,500 at current rates). This was announced by Primorsky Krai Governor Oleg Kozhemyako during the «Direct Conversation» program (6+).

Residents of Vladivostok have sent numerous complaints about the shortage of buses on routes No. 31, 28, 55, 72, 95, and others. As before, the authorities named the main cause of the problem as a shortage of personnel, which they are trying to solve by raising wages. The unreliability of private operators also plays a role.

«We have been solving the problems since 2024, seeing that the bus service transferred to private hands does not meet the goal of making people think that buses will run from 6–7 a.m. to 11 p.m. As a rule, on circular routes, a private operator, not seeing customers in the late hours, might not even go out. The task of municipal transport is to work on schedule, so I believe that up to 70% of this system should be in state hands,» said Kozhemyako.

According to the governor, Vladivostok needs to deploy about 120 buses in the coming years, but that is only one of the tasks: the transport must be maintained, registered, and qualified drivers must be found.

Also, Vladivostok Mayor Konstantin Shestakov stated in a live broadcast that today five more MAZ buses, manufactured in Belarus, have been deployed on the problematic route No. 95. According to him, the city received the new transport back in December 2025, and it is planned to purchase 41 more units during 2026.

Also, two new buses will start operating on route No. 15k «Trudovaya — Instrumentalny Zavod» in early February and on Russky Island.