Kazan Commuters Protest Overcrowded Buses on Mamadyshsky Trakt

Residents of several Kazan residential complexes located along Mamadyshsky Trakt are sounding the alarm over transport issues: buses are perpetually overcrowded, to the point where passengers get their hands pinched.

Kazan residents have lost hope of resolving the issue peacefully with the executive committee. Recently, they collected nearly two hundred signatures for an appeal to the prosecutor«s office and are preparing to file a lawsuit.

Meanwhile, a 116.RU correspondent decided to experience firsthand the difficulties of the commute, which residents of the Vesna, Vesna-2, Svetlaya Dolina, Leto, Green, and Noksa Park residential complexes face at least twice a day.

The Key Is to Stay Away from the Door to Avoid Being Crushed

We rode on bus No. 71. It«s not the only route in the area, but the most popular. As point »B«, we chose the »Edelweiss Store« stop, since that»s where the most passengers get on and off.

Our journey started from «Cafe Polet» in Kazan«s Sovetsky District. In the evenings, the bus typically arrives here already full, because residents and students are commuting from work or school at that time.

«At »Kol«tso» everyone crowds in. I get on before «Kol»tso«. And the whole crowd gets off at »Edelweis« too,» said Nadezhda, a resident of the Leto residential complex.

At 18:42 at the «Cafe Polet» stop where we departed, there weren«t many people waiting, but almost all of them ended up leaving with us.

We had to get nervous and cold: the bus promised in 5 minutes arrived only after 15 minutes. Possibly, 7-point traffic jams on the roads had an effect. Bus No. 71 stood at the stop for several more minutes, waiting for new passengers.

Of course, there were no free seats left in the cabin. Young people yielded seats to the elderly. However, finding a place to stand calmly was quite realistic. The key is to stay away from the entrance door, so that people entering don«t crush or push you.

There are no validators for contactless payment on route No. 71, so the conductor gets off through the front door and gets on through the back at stops to check if passengers in the rear of the cabin have paid.

«Buses run in sufficient numbers in the morning, and returning in the evening at 17:00 or 18:00 is fine. The problem is that you can»t fit into the bus. If you didn«t manage to squeeze in—wait for another one. The »Edelweiss« stop is the busiest. Everyone gets off and on there, both ways,» explained Maria Nazarova from the Svetlaya Dolina residential complex, who commutes to work on this route.

The bus delivered us to the «Edelweiss Store» stop by 18:20. We got there in practically the same time promised by Yandex Maps—17 minutes. No major difficulties arose on the roads.

Along the way, at stops like «Agrarnaya», «Bolshiye Klyki», «Maliye Klyki», and others, a maximum of one or two passengers got off. But at «Edelweiss», about 15 people got off simultaneously with us. After that, this whole crowd together crossed the road at the only pedestrian crossing and dispersed in different directions.

And Where«s the Light?

Lighting at the stop and on the roadway is poor, and waiting at traffic lights is quite long, so you need to be careful and only cross on green.

Residents of the Vesna and Vesna-2 complexes only need to cross two roads to get home. But to reach the Novaya Noksa residential complex, for example, you have to walk 24 minutes along poorly lit streets.

And Where«s the Display Board?

For the purity of the experiment, we waited for the next bus from the center at the «Edelweiss Store» stop. By the way, there are no information boards with schedules here at all, so you have to track transport using maps on your phone.

We arrived at the stop at 18:30. According to Yandex Maps, the next bus No. 71 heading to the Konstantinovka settlement was supposed to arrive in 13 minutes. But due to evening traffic, it only reached us after 19 minutes.

Despite being lucky with the weather—it was only -11°C (12°F) outside, with no wind or blizzards—waiting 20 minutes for transport in winter is no pleasure. Gloves are a must. The next bus arrived just as overcrowded as our previous one. In a minute, the cabin emptied before our eyes.

While we were waiting, bus No. 123 also passed by, running towards «Prospekt Pobedy». Some residents who commute to the Privolzhsky District use it in the mornings. It«s even smaller than the No. 71, and at these hours, it»s packed to the brim.

«I used to go to and from work on bus No. 123 towards »Prospekt Pobedy«. It was awful! In the morning, you can»t get into this bus, and if you do, all your organs are squeezed out. I gave up on that and now commute to work with carpoolers. Yes, you have to pay more, but you get there comfortably,« shared Olga from the Svetlaya Dolina residential complex.

As it turned out, after rush hour, the waiting time for bus No. 71 doesn«t decrease; it becomes even longer.

«Right now I»m standing at the «Kamal Theater» stop. It says No. 71 will arrive in 34 minutes,« reported Nadezhda to 116.RU, who was commuting from work at 8 p.m.

Alternatives—Walk or Order a Taxi

By the way, the last bus No. 71 departs from the «Kol»tso« shopping center around 21:30, so local residents working late have almost no options to get home.

«Sometimes I work until 21:30, and if I miss the last bus, I have to order a taxi. Otherwise, there»s no way. They should at least extend the route until 22:00,« shared Polina Tuktamysheva, a resident of the Svetlaya Dolina residential complex.

Residents of all complexes consider the main transport problem in their area to be the huge passenger flow that the buses can«t handle. Moreover, all residents of nearby residential complexes converge on one stop every morning and fight for a chance to squeeze into the morning bus.

«Either they need to launch a route connecting the Leto, Svetlaya Dolina, and Noksa Park complexes, or do something with the No. 71 buses. All of Svetlaya Dolina and the Vesna complex get on at the »Edelweiss« stop, and two stops later at »Maliye Klyki«, you can»t even push into the bus. You«re not just standing there; you»re literally in a crush. Without air. How many times have hands been pinched by the door,« noted Nadezhda from the Leto residential complex.

She reminded that every morning, a huge number of students also ride to the center for classes. To get to work by 8 a.m., you have to leave at 6:30 to somehow «shove yourself» into the bus.

Some have developed life hacks to avoid crowding on transport. According to Anastasia from Noksa Park, residents of this complex walk 20 minutes to the «Academy of Justice» stop, take a tram to «Victory Avenue», and from there go by metro or bus to the center. Anastasia says there are no sidewalks or proper lighting along this route.

Recently, 193 residents of the residential complexes mentioned above filed a collective complaint with the prosecutor«s office of Tatarstan against the Kazan executive committee. Until now, Kazan residents had written appeals to the executive committee, but city authorities stated they do not plan to add routes, claiming the current ones are handling their task.