Data released by the transport department and police in Chisinau municipality shows a continuing decline in public transport related road crashes and injuries since the establishment of the Occupational Road Safety Working Party in 2012. From 2012 to 2015, serious road collisions in all public transport have declined by 48%, fatalities by 85% and injuries by 53%. These figures show continuing progress on the year-on-year declines experienced since the establishment of the Working Party.
In November 2012 the Automobile Club of Moldova (ACM), working with EASST and the Kent & Medway Casualty Reduction Partnership, organized a seminar sharing experience with the Chisinau and Tiraspol municipalities on how to reduce road deaths through effective local partnerships. The project brought experts from the UK and EASST partners from Georgia and Armenia to Moldova to assist the Moldovan municipalities in creating local road safety partnerships to share information, data and strategies to reduce road casualties across all modes of transport. The Chisinau partnership has flourished, bringing together all public transport providers to develop a local casualty reduction strategy.
In February 2013, supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and EASST Ambassador Alex Wurz, EASST and the ACM launched a ‘Safe Driving for Life’ Campaign to encourage specific road safety management among public and private sector fleets. Local participants included representatives from Chisinau municipality and managers of public transport fleets (trolley buses, buses and maxi-taxis), along with private fleet managers. Following the seminar, local participants created a new Occupational Road Safety Working Party with its first meeting in March 2013.
In December 2013, sponsored by the EBRD and EASST, a Study Tour was organized for the Group to build a deeper understanding of effective fleet road safety management. The Study Tour participants included the Chief of the Transport Management Department in the Chisinau Transport Department, Director of the Chisinau Trolley Bus Company, the Deputy Director of Service Operations for the Chisinau Bus Company, the Director of Autorapid SRL, the largest Chisinau maxi taxi company, the Chief of the General Police Inspectorate of Moldova and the Transport Manager for Gas Natural Fenosa (a natural gas retailer).
The Working Group have been meeting regularly since then and have implemented impressive improvements to their fleet management practices – including better testing of drivers and vehicles, better communication, motivation and training, and safer forecourt design.
The reductions in public transport casualties have been mirrored, too, in the private fleet operated by Fenosa. Under the leadership of Liuba Popa, their Transport Manager, extensive driver training was been organised in 2015 for 700 Fenosa drivers. The training was organised by EASST partner, the ACM. Data shared by Fenosa shows that in the past year their fleet has seen a 55% reduction in collisions caused by their drivers.
