Inefficient transport system costs Tashkent $343 million annually

Tashkent loses an estimated $343 million annually due to its inefficient transport system. This is equivalent to 1.27% of the city’s gross regional product (GRP). The figure was announced at a press conference held by the Tashkent Traffic Management Center (TMC) on 12 March, a Gazeta correspondent reported The center is a newly established body responsible for coordinating a unified transport policy, replacing dozens of separate institutions that previously managed different aspects of the sector Deputy hokim (governor) of Tashkent for transport and road infrastructure Abdurakhmon Bakhtiyev said the city was developing rapidly while pressure on its transport network continued to grow. “Current conditions require a transition to traffic management based on system data and analytics,” he noted.Advertising on Gazeta Abdurakhmon Bakhtiyev. Photo: Orifjon Khoshimov / Gazeta Although Tashkent’s officially registered population is 3.2 million, the actual number of people present in the city reaches 5−5.2 million, taking into account 1.5 million daily visitors from other regions and about 500,000 temporary residents, head of the TMC department responsible for public transport priority Olloyor Norbutayev said. The city’s population grows by about 110,000 people annually The mobile population — residents who make daily movements — is estimated at 3.4 million people, including 1.1 million students and 700,000 employees of government institutions. Together, they make 11.2 million movements every day, including 7.6 million trips using transport and 3.6 million walking trips. Micromobility options (bicycles, scooters) account for only 5% of movements, or about 400,000 trips per day There are currently 1.3 million vehicles in the capital, with the number increasing by about 80,000 each year. Of these, 833,000 are registered in Tashkent, while around 500,000 enter the city daily The city’s street and road network stretches for 4,884 km, including 4,523 km of internal streets, 289 km of central roads and 72 km of roads of international importance. While the network was designed to handle about 400,000 vehicles per day, the actual figure now reaches around 770,000. TMC aims to reduce congestion by 30% by 2030 An analysis of 472 km of major streets and roads revealed critical congestion levels on some sections. “57.4 km operate with a load level of 8−10, which directly leads to traffic jams in these areas,” Norbutayev stressed In addition, 411 km of streets were built more than 10 years ago and are now 87% worn out Olloyor Norbutayev. Photo: Orifjon Khoshimov / Gazeta Despite recent improvements — including the purchase of new buses and metro trains — the share of public transport in total trips remains relatively low “On average, only 30−35% of trips are made using public transport (2.6 million trips — ed.). The larger share is made by private cars (4.6 million — ed.). This contributes to traffic congestion in Tashkent,” Norbutayev emphasized In cities with well-developed public transport systems, usage typically reaches 60−65%. A presidential decree issued on 4 December, which established TMC, set a target of increasing the share of public transport to 60% of trips by 2030, with half of all buses becoming electric One of the key challenges is a shortage of buses. According to the methodology, cities should have 1 bus per 1,000 residents In Tashkent, there are only 0.6 buses per 1,000 residents. Currently, the city operates 1,897 buses, with plans to increase the fleet to 3,161. Buses carry about 1.5 million passengers per day, while authorities aim to increase this figure to 3.4 million Meanwhile, the Tashkent metro covers only part of the city and is accessible to about 16% of residents. It currently serves around 1 million passengers daily, with plans to double that number to 2 million The city must restructure its public transport network, including bus routes and stops, and ensure priority lanes for public transport. Existing bus lanes are poorly organized in many places, and violations by private car drivers are not effectively enforced Traffic Management Center presentation on 12 March. Photo: Orifjon Khoshimov / Gazeta The TMC also highlighted several other transport-related challenges: Experts also identified several engineering and infrastructure shortcomings affecting safety and mobility. These include: To address these challenges, the TMC has developed short-, medium- and long-term plans extending to 2028−2030. The measures aim to reduce traffic accidents, ease congestion, cut harmful emissions and improve mobility across the city Materials from this website may not be reproduced or distributed without prior written permission Thank you. We have received your message and will fix the mistake soon