For at least five years state institutions, sector organisations and professionals have been talking about the urgent need for modern parking lots for trucks traveling in the country, but actually nothing has been done done. The active inaction actually protects the status quo – roadside pubs of dubious quality, where they offer everything from paid love to alcohol and illegal drugs, but no security for truck drivers, and even less for the cargo they transport. At the bottom line, of course are the serious lobbies that invariably lurk around a key sector of the transport sector, such as land automobile cargo services.
The construction of parking lots and parking areas for heavy goods vehicles on intercity roads will become on the principle of public-private partnership, said recently the Minister of Transport and Communications Ivaylo Moscovski. The statement came after a meeting with trade organizations in the sector of road transport, attended by the Minister of Regional Development Liliana Pavlova, representatives of the Automobile Administration Executive Agency and Traffic Police and Road Infrastructure Agency. There it was decided to gradually introduce additional restrictions on the movement of heavy automobiles during holidays, and after the construction of the needed parking lots these restriction will be valid all year round. A group of experts will be set up to analyze the critical points along the national road network which will have to come forward with concrete proposals for the parking areas for the trucks. Experts will also have to pronounce on and what hours and days the movement of lorries is to be prohibited.
The representatives of professional organizations supported the proposals and expressed readiness to participate in public-private partnerships, concluded the short message sent by the transport ministry to the media. Which exactly branch structures said that has not been mentioned. The pictures from the event showed that among those who participated in the meeting were the President of the Bulgarian Association of Road Transport Associations in Miroljub Stolarski and the chairman of the Association of Road Transport Organizations Koycho Rusev.
Indeed, these are two of the largest organizations in the sector, but also the closest ones to the government. Miroljub Stolarski, through his company Karat C serves some of the most attractive city bus lines in Sofia. Several years ago his name was involved in a scandal that forced Sofia Deputy Mayor Velizar Stoilov to resign after it became known that he had entered a backroom agreement with private companies for the leasing of buses. It is rumoured also that Mr. Stolarski is close to Interior Minister Tsvetanov and Stolarski’s Palace hotel in Velingrad hosted many of the internal meetings of the Interior Ministry.
The Association of Road Transport Organizations is also considered a major lobbyist in the sector and for several years has been actively cooperating with the government and the ruling GERB party.
In fact, the important absentee from the meeting was the National Association of Bulgarian Carriers, which unites over 50 companies active in automobile cargo transportation. We never received an invitation to the meeting, although we are an organization which has been discussing the issue for at least four years, vice-chairman Krasimir Lalov told the BANKER. The failure to invite this organisation is even more surprising because it is not only discussing the problem, but has started working on its solution The Association has purchased 100 decares near Harmanli, southeastern Bulgaria, where it intends to build a parking lot for 600 trucks, meeting all European rules – separate and fenced territory providing for good rest of drivers that will be monitored with video cameras. In case of no cameras insurers will refuse to cover the damage if the cargo somehow disappears. It is also necessary the car park to be divided into zones for trucks with conventional cargos and for refrigerated vehicles and still one more for those who transport dangerous goods.
