Minister of Public Works and Transport in the caretaker government, Ali Hamieh, held an extensive meeting in his office with a delegation from various unions representing public transportation vehicle owners and drivers in Lebanon, attended by the President of the Federation of Land Transport Unions in Lebanon, Bassam Talayeh, along with other union leaders.
During the meeting, they discussed the various circumstances that had previously prevented the definition of transport fares. It was emphasized that "these conditions had not obstructed the continuous follow-up of the issue by the ministry, especially regarding the directives given to the General Directorate of Land and Maritime Transport to maintain communication and hold meetings with the relevant unions to work on proposing a value for these fares, as soon as suitable conditions for their announcement were available, ensuring that the interests of the concerned parties and the income of citizens were considered."
Following the meeting, Hamieh stated, "It has become possible today to determine the transport fare, particularly since the two main criteria related to it have somewhat stabilized, especially concerning the exchange rate stability and the cost of vehicle maintenance, in addition to fuel prices." He added, "This meeting today was the culmination of a series of meetings held over the past months, aimed at establishing a reasonably balanced transport fare that concerns over 34,000 legal public vehicles across Lebanon, as well as approximately 2,500 large buses, in addition to more than 4,000 mini buses (vans)."
Hamieh announced that "the fare was signed today and will be effective as of this date," confirming that "this fare has been coordinated with all federations and unions." He stated, "In this context, balance was the fundamental goal we sought between drivers' rights and their livelihoods on one hand, and the income of citizens and residents on the other." He pointed out that "throughout the previous and current period, coordination with the Ministry of Interior has continued, and the resumption of mechanical inspections for all vehicles and means of transport is more than necessary and urgent, so they have valid operation certificates, as well as addressing the official documentation of vehicles."
He thanked the relevant parties in the Internal Security Forces for the need to monitor compliance with the established fare. He noted that "meetings will continue with the unions to discuss more projects and additional proposals in the near future."
In response to a question regarding the pricing, Hamieh confirmed that "from now on, all tables specifying the fares between different regions for all public vehicles of various sizes will be distributed and published." The distributed table indicated that the service fare within Beirut has become 150,000 and the bus fare 75,000.
