At least 45 million leva is the loss to the economy of Sofia and the country from the six-day transport strike in the capital. This is the unproduced gross added value for half a working day, as much as Sofia residents lost in excess during the days when there was no ground transport. The calculations are by economist Krasen Stanchev and were published by the Institute for Market Economics.
According to the expert, the so-called "strike" is not a strike, but a racket. "The success of the transport racket cannot but give rise to hope for other similar rackets in the near future," Stanchev commented.
To make the calculations, the economist used reference data based on already established indicators. According to the analysis, 887.7 thousand trips are made daily in the capital's transport, or 37 thousand per hour. During the strike, the metro served only half of the normal passenger flow, which means that 18 thousand potential passengers per hour did not receive the service.
About 60% of the trips are made by working people, with the employment level in the capital for 2023 being 78% of the working-age population. The calculations assume that the loss of working time is one hour per day or half a working day for the entire period of the strike.
For 2023, the gross added value of the city of Sofia is 69 billion leva or 189 million leva per day, the analysis also says. Under the assumptions made, the loss to the economy of Sofia and the country would be 94.5 million leva for one working day, "taken" from the strike.
When taking into account the "saved" costs for daily investments in Sofia's public transport (fuel, electricity and salaries), the loss is approximately 90 million leva per day or 45 million leva, assuming that the unproduced gross value added is for half a working day.
The calculations were made based on the indicators for 2023, but if we update them for 2024, the amount of lost direct benefits will likely increase to about 49 million leva, the economist believes. This is more than three times the proposed central budget increase in salaries for land transport employees of 15 million leva.
"This success is an obvious loss for taxpayers from all over Bulgaria. They also pay for Sofia's heating," Stanchev points out.
Ultimately, after the six-day blockade, the government allocated 15 million leva to increase the salaries of employees in the capital's public transport by 300 leva to the basic salaries.