10 kopecks, or Why buses in Kirov drive as they please

      Flight cancellations, buses that do not go out on the line, drivers passing stops by — passengers complain about this on almost every route. Responses from the city hall usually boil down to "work is underway." But the work is being done within a legal framework that the administration itself has defined. It is enough to look at the contracts that the city concludes with carriers.

      Contract worth 9 kopecks

      According to data from the government procurement portal, regular passenger transportation in Kirov is carried out under contracts worth 9 kopecks. Sometimes the price reaches 10 kopecks.

      The open data indicates that the contract with the carrier LLC "Azimut" was concluded at a price of 9 kopecks. The advance payment under the contract is 100% — that is, the carrier receives this meager amount immediately after signing.

      The fare for passengers and the transportation of luggage, according to clause 1.5 of the contract, is at the disposal of the carrier. The city budget, apart from the advance of 9 kopecks, does not provide for any other payments under the contract.

      According to the same scheme, judging by the open data, contracts for other routes serviced by JSC "Automobile Transport Enterprise," LLC "Transavto," LLC "KamAZ-Auto" have also been concluded. The price of these contracts is also 9–10 kopecks.

      The fine is limited to the contract price

      Clause 9.8 of the contract states: "The total amount of accrued penalties (fines, late fees) for non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of obligations by the Contractor, as stipulated in the contract, cannot exceed the contract price."

      The contract price is 9 kopecks. Therefore, the maximum amount of the fine for the carrier for all three years of the contract cannot exceed nine kopecks. This condition applies to any violations: flight cancellations, buses not going out on the line, passing stops without boarding.

      Work volumes — in hours, responsibility — in kopecks

      In the appendix to one of the contracts, the volumes of work are specified in hours. In 2026, the carrier is obliged to perform more than 219,000 hours of transport work. In 2027 — more than 220,000 hours. In 2028 — more than 221,000 hours. In total, over three years — more than 660,000 hours.

      At the same time, the responsibility for not fulfilling these volumes is limited to the same contract price — 9 kopecks. The fine for an unfulfilled flight is 1% of the cost of the unfulfilled volume of work. However, the total amount of all fines cannot exceed 9 kopecks.

      Moreover, the documents state that flight cancellations do not include disruptions caused by accidents not due to the fault of the carrier, traffic jams, or adverse weather conditions.

      How the price was formed

      The procurement documents contain a calculation of the initial maximum contract price. According to these calculations, the real cost of transportation for one of the lots was estimated at more than 4 billion rubles, for another — almost 2 billion rubles. From these amounts, the planned revenue of the carrier — more than 2.9 billion rubles and 1.06 billion rubles respectively — was deducted. As a result, the budget component turned out to be close to zero.

      By law, it is not allowed to set a zero contract price. Therefore, the documents included a sum of 9-10 kopecks.

      Results of contract arithmetic

      Contracts were concluded in accordance with the requirements of Federal Law No. 44-FZ. Competitive procedures were followed. Formally, the procurements were conducted legally.

      However, the mechanism for calculating the contract price has led to the fact that the customer, the Department of Urban Economy of the Kirov City Administration, lacks financial leverage to influence the carrier. The penalties stipulated in the contract are symbolic in nature.

      Termination of the contract unilaterally is possible, but it is a lengthy procedure. At the same time, the carrier has the right to claim that it is fulfilling its obligations within the contract price — 9 kopecks. Considering that the main part of the carrier's income is formed from passenger fares, not budget funds, there may not be sufficient formal grounds for termination.

      Passengers continue to complain about flight cancellations, overcrowded cabins, and irregular bus schedules. Among the routes that fall under the described scheme are buses No. 38, 52, 53, 90. The city administration cannot impose real financial sanctions on the carriers — they are limited to nine kopecks.