Moscow Riders Say Bus Tickets Are Not Fare

Bus riders in the Soviet capital are up in arms over the new tickets they have to use.

Moscow Komsomolets, a newspaper of the Young Communists, on Thursday printed several irate letters along with an article describing the riders’ outrage.

For years, the bus fare in Moscow has been five kopeks, about eight cents at the official rate of exchange. The five-kopek coin, popularly known as the pyatachok, has been inserted into cash boxes on buses and streetcars and in subway stations.

But not long ago, the city transport authorities announced that, from then on, bus passengers would have to buy a book of 10 tickets for 50 kopeks.

The idea, they said, was to eliminate money boxes from buses, which on occasion have been robbed by drivers as well as passengers, according to the newspaper.

Further, it was hoped that the tickets might help to shore up the bus system’s faltering finances. Every year, the system operates at a considerable loss. But the newspaper reported in unflattering terms that the system is still running very much in the red.

The letters emphasized three main complaints about the tickets:

--Bus riders are forced to buy at least 10 tickets a month, even though they might use no more than two or three.

--The bus tickets are not accepted on streetcars or on the subway.

--The tickets are so flimsy they often disintegrate before they can be used.

The readers’ letters were so convincing, the paper said, that it is undertaking a campaign to bring back the pyatachok.