During a working session of Yerevan Municipality, Mayor Tigran Avinyan addressed the capital’s public transportation issues, emphasizing that without periodic revisions, the city would continue facing the same challenges it has for decades.

“If nothing is reviewed, we’ll end up with the same situation we’ve had for nearly 30 years. If we want real change, we need the proper resources,” Avinyan said, according to Radar.am .

He stressed that all residents must participate in this transformation, and though unpopular, some service fees must occasionally be revised. “Let’s be honest—shouldn’t fares be reviewed at least once in 40 years, especially when the whole transport system is being upgraded? I think this is a logical change,” he added.

Avinyan also highlighted that the outdated "gazelle" minibuses no longer operate in Yerevan, replaced by modern buses that serve the entire city, requiring corresponding service fees.

"About 10–11 years ago, the Municipality considered investing in the old ‘gazelle’ system. If someone thinks even the current fare is too high, we can revert to that system. But if we want quality improvement, we can’t wear down what we have without revising anything. That would leave us exactly where we were 30 years ago,” he noted.

He emphasized that meaningful changes are impossible without financial investment and citizen involvement.

On February 11, Yerevan's city council rejected an opposition proposal to keep the single-trip fare at 100 drams. The council voted to raise it to 150 drams starting February 1 and introduce a unified ticketing system. Former mayor Hayk Marutyan, the Mother Armenia faction, and youth groups opposed the hike, urging citizens to continue paying only 100 drams.