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public transport

Opinion: Overcrowding on Almaty Buses – A Man-Made Transit Crisis

The Kazakh authorities' grand plans to turn Almaty and its picturesque surroundings into Central Asia's next tourist mecca have run headlong into a public transportation crisis this fall. Almaty residents have been flooding social media with photos and videos of overcrowded buses and trolleybuses, saying they have not seen anything like this since the 1990s. But a closer look at the problem suggests that the current chaos is largely man-made. Almaty is a university city, so residents have long been accustomed to several months of crowded conditions each year. Public spaces, inexpensive cafés, and public transportation all become noticeably busier. For years, however, people in Almaty have generally avoided blaming newcomers for the city's infrastructure problems, preferring to put up with the inconvenience. This year, though, that tolerance has been put to a serious test. By October, residents had realized that ignoring the elephant in the room was becoming increasingly absurd. Journalists began picking up complaints from social media and amplifying residents' grievances. One of the most widely circulated images in mid-October showed a young woman's leg trapped in a bus door as she tried to squeeze aboard. City officials responded like firefighters trying to contain a blaze of public outrage. They blamed traffic congestion for throwing buses off schedule and acted as though the problem was limited to just one or two routes. Roadwork commissioned by the Almaty authorities themselves has added to the disruption. Officials have also pointed to fare evasion, claiming that more than 30% of passengers during rush hour were not paying their fares. [caption id="attachment_60039" align="aligncenter" width="1816"] Buses are often full to capacity.[/caption] "Fare payments are also used to calculate how many buses are needed on a route. Currently, 3,238 public transportation vehicles operate in Almaty every day," Almaty's Department of Road Traffic and Public Transport Management explained. On November 5, officials insisted that the number of buses in service had not fallen, although they acknowledged cutting the number of journeys by 20–30% during off-peak hours. They again blamed traffic congestion and claimed that more than 40% of passengers were not paying their fares. These explanations failed to satisfy Almaty residents who regularly pay their fares. They had already uncovered a document that had previously escaped public attention. It turned out to be the city's public transportation tariff commission minutes, published on the department's website. They record meetings through August 7, 2026, and the commission's approval of reductions in planned bus deployments and journeys across city routes "in accordance with consultants' recommendations." "The reductions were made in accordance with international practices. The number of vehicles deployed on city routes was reduced by up to 20% on weekdays, 10% on Saturdays, 25% on Sundays, and 35% on public holidays. The number of round trips on city routes was reduced by 10–20% on weekdays, 5–10% on Saturdays, 12.5–25% on Sundays, and 17.5–35% on public holidays," the document states. As if that were not enough, another revealing document surfaced: an October 22, 2026, publication by the Committee of...

Harassment Laws

Sexual Harassment in Kazakhstan: Why Are Such Cases Difficult to Track?

A woman who said she was sexually harassed on a bus in Astana decided against going to the police because she feared she would be unable to prove what had happened. Instead, she confronted the man and photographed him. "It wasn't an accidental touch because the bus was crowded. He was groping me," she wrote on Threads. Police identified the 46-year-old man after discovering her post. A court sentenced him to ten days of administrative detention for indecent behavior on public transport. On October 13, a court in the capital had imposed the same penalty on an inDrive driver who had asked a female passenger intimate questions and propositioned her for sex during a ride. The woman also took to Threads to describe the incident. The court classified the driver's actions as petty hooliganism. Why Sexual Harassment is Prosecuted as Petty Hooliganism Kazakhstan does not have a comprehensive legal provision specifically addressing sexual harassment of adults in public places. Depending on the circumstances, law enforcement authorities may apply administrative or criminal law. Article 434 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which covers petty hooliganism, is used in cases of this kind. It applies to offensive harassment of others and other conduct that disturbs public order, including obscene language. The law does not distinguish sexual harassment from other forms of offensive behavior. A first offense is punishable by a fine of 20 times the monthly calculation index (MCI) or 20 to 60 hours of community service. Alternatively, courts can impose five to 15 days of administrative detention. The MCI is a government-set unit used to calculate fines and certain other payments. In 2026, it stands at 4,325 tenge, making a fine of 20 MCI equal to 86,500 tenge, or approximately $190. In August 2023, an Almaty moped rider was held administratively liable under the petty hooliganism provision after slapping a woman he did not know on the buttocks. Because these incidents are recorded alongside other public order violations, official statistics do not show how many cases specifically involve unwanted sexual conduct. Criminal law provides more serious penalties for certain forms of sexual coercion. Article 123 of the Criminal Code addresses coercion into sexual acts through blackmail or threats against property. It also covers exploitation of a victim's financial or other dependence. It does not cover every instance of unwanted touching or verbal sexual harassment. In April 2024, Kazakhstan amended legislation protecting women and children, including provisions establishing criminal liability for sexual harassment of children under 16. The amendments did not create an equivalent standalone offense covering all forms of sexual harassment of adults in public places. Workplace Sexual Harassment Legislation Is Being Developed The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population has developed amendments that would introduce a definition of workplace sexual harassment into national labor legislation for the first time. The proposals would establish employers' responsibilities for preventing such conduct and create legal grounds for dismissing offenders. However, they would not establish a separate criminal or administrative penalty...

public transport

Bishkek Metro Plans Resurface Despite High Costs and Low Demand

Bishkek is once again talking about building a metro, despite an assessment by the Kyrgyz capital's own planners that it would attract too few passengers and cost roughly ten times as much as a tram network. Officials have now raised it with French and European development partners. Plans for the new transport systems were discussed on October 9 by Bishkek First Deputy Mayor Kubanychbek Imanaliev, French Ambassador Nicolas Faye, and representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The French side expressed its willingness to help finance a feasibility study. Alexander Baranov, one of the developers of the city's master plan through 2050, said in December 2025 that a tram network would be much quicker to build and better suited to the city's passenger volumes. Mayor Aibek Dzhunushaliev said on October 2 that the city would consider building a metro if a viable project and investors emerged. Meanwhile, Bishkek is still struggling to provide enough buses. The mayor said on October 12 that the 1,600 buses purchased earlier were insufficient and that the fleet needs to expand to approximately 2,500. Bishkek's master plan through 2050, approved earlier this year, includes tram lines and a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, using dedicated bus lanes and specially equipped stops. This approach can carry more passengers and reduce travel times without requiring underground tunnels. The proposed tram network would connect several districts of the capital. A BRT line could link parts of the city with Manas International Airport. No construction timetable has been established. According to official estimates, the city's road network was originally designed for approximately 50,000 vehicles. Today, around 468,000 vehicles are registered in the capital, while as many as 700,000 use its streets daily when traffic from the suburbs and neighboring regions is included. Nearly 80% of Bishkek's registered cars were more than 15 years old, according to figures published by Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision in 2025. A World Bank study identified transport as one of the city's main pollution sources, accounting for approximately 27% of annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations. Bishkek regularly experiences severe smog, particularly in winter, when vehicle emissions are compounded by pollution from residential heating and other sources. Authorities previously proposed prioritizing public transportation and gradually reducing the use of private cars.

Transport Infrastructure

Kazakhstan’s Largest City to Bring Back Trams as Almaty LRT Targets 2027 Launch

Kazakhstan’s largest city plans to bring back tram service more than a decade after it was suspended. Almaty aims to launch the first light rail transit (LRT) line by the end of 2027, dedicating part of one of the city’s busiest transport corridors to the new system. For Almaty, the project is primarily an attempt to cope with growing pressure on its roads. The city had a population of about 2.37 million as of June 1, 2026, while many more people commute daily from the surrounding metropolitan area. Rail-based public transportation is currently limited to a single metro line, whose first section opened in 2011 after more than two decades of construction. The first phase of the LRT will run for 18.3 kilometers. Preparatory work is underway, including the removal of infrastructure from the former tram system and the relocation of utility networks. City authorities have said late 2027 remains the target for launching the line, although the timing could change depending on the manufacture and delivery of the trains. Unlike Astana’s LRT, the Almaty line will run entirely at street level, with no elevated sections planned. Trains will operate on dedicated tracks, including along Bauyrzhan Momyshuly and Tole Bi streets. On these sections, two center lanes will be allocated entirely to the LRT once the line begins operating. Before the main construction work can proceed, 375 sections of utility infrastructure must be relocated, including water, sewer, heating, gas, and electricity networks. This work is already creating additional traffic problems along Tole Bi, one of Almaty’s main thoroughfares. In some places, the roadway has been narrowed and traffic temporarily redirected into opposing lanes. The trains will be capable of speeds of up to 65–70 kilometers per hour, but their average operating speed will be considerably lower, at around 30–35 kilometers per hour. The main reason is that stops will be spaced about 700 meters apart on average. The line’s main advantage is expected to come less from the trains’ speed than from physically separating the LRT from regular road traffic. For Almaty, this marks a return to a familiar form of transportation. Trams first appeared in the city in 1937 and remained part of its transport system for almost eight decades. Service was suspended in 2015 following two serious accidents, and the network was never restored. The idea of replacing the old tram system with a modern LRT has been discussed for years. The project has repeatedly changed and been delayed, with different financing models and routes considered. The current line is part of a broader overhaul of Almaty’s transport system, which also includes expansion of the metro, bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors, and dedicated bus lanes. Under the city’s long-term master plan, the LRT network is expected to reach 76 kilometers by 2040. Kazakhstan has already gained its first experience operating this type of transport in the capital. Astana’s LRT began carrying passengers in 2026 after years of construction and repeated delays. During its first two weeks of full...

Tourism

Passenger Bus Service Connects Tashkent and Lake Issyk-Kul

A seasonal passenger bus service connecting Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, with Cholpon-Ata, the main resort city on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, has been launched, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport has announced. The route, operated by Uzautotrans Service using Yutong buses, opened on June 8. The service will depart from Tashkent’s main bus station on even-numbered days in June. Return trips from Issyk-Kul to Tashkent will run on odd-numbered days. Tickets cost 365,000 Uzbekistani sum, or about $30. Lake Issyk-Kul is Kyrgyzstan’s premier tourism hub and is especially popular with visitors from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia. According to data from Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce and the 2GIS mapping service, tourism activity in the Issyk-Kul region has tripled over the past six years. By the end of August 2025, which marked the close of the summer resort season, the volume of tourist services along the lake’s shores had tripled compared with 2019.

Astana LRT

Astana LRT Carries One Million Passengers in First Two Weeks, Mayor Says

Astana Mayor Zhenis Kassymbek has announced that the city’s newly launched light rail transit (LRT) system, which connects the capital’s international airport with Nurly Zhol railway station, carried one million passengers during its first two weeks of operation. The elevated rail project, designed to bypass traffic congestion on city roads, was launched in 2011. Authorities initially planned to complete construction by 2017, in time for the international EXPO exhibition hosted by Astana. However, the project was suspended in 2013 amid rising costs, and a subsequent attempt to revive it two years later also failed to move forward. In 2019, authorities in Kazakhstan opened a criminal investigation into allegations of cost inflation and the embezzlement of public funds allocated to the project. Former Astana LRT chief Talgat Ardan and former deputy mayor Kanat Sultanbekov were accused of embezzling nearly 30 billion tenge, or approximately $79 million at the exchange rate at the time. In May 2023, both men were sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison. Despite the controversy, city authorities ultimately decided to complete the project, arguing that dismantling the partially built infrastructure would cost nearly as much as finishing construction. In May 2026, the first LRT line linking the airport and Nurly Zhol railway station officially entered service. One of the main concerns raised by critics was whether residents would embrace the new transport system, particularly given its higher fare. A single LRT trip costs 200 tenge ($0.41), compared with 110 tenge ($0.23) for a bus ride. However, Kassymbek said the system’s early performance had exceeded expectations. “Since the launch of the LRT, passenger traffic has reached one million passengers in just two weeks,” Kassymbek wrote on Instagram. “Daily ridership now stands at approximately 65,000-75,000 passengers. These figures demonstrate strong demand for the city’s new rail transit system among both residents and visitors. I thank all passengers for actively using the LRT, for their trust in the new transport system, and for their responsible attitude toward the infrastructure.” Each LRT train can carry up to 600 passengers. Fifteen driverless trains currently operate on the 22.4-kilometer line, with an additional four trains held in reserve. The system includes 18 stations and a maintenance depot. A full end-to-end journey takes approximately 40 minutes, with trains operating at average speeds of 50-60 kilometers per hour. Service intervals range from five to six minutes. Planning is also underway for the second phase of the network, which would run from Astana-1 railway station, the city’s older rail terminal, through the Zhagalau residential district on Astana’s western outskirts and onward to Kosshy, a fast-growing satellite city south of the capital. The proposed extension would span 26.5 kilometers and include 20 stations. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, former LRT project chief Talgat Ardan was detained in Turkey in May last year. However, he has yet to be extradited to Kazakhstan. According to officials in Kazakhstan, the delay stems from the absence of specific deadlines for processing extradition requests under the legal...