THE BUS CARRIERS FORUM AND THE AWARDS FOR 2012 OF THE BULGARIAN PASSENGER TRANSPORT FEDERATION AND OF THE BUSES AND VANS MAGAZINE

Over 60 representatives from the bus industry — owners of the best established bus companies in Bulgaria — participated in the national forum ‘The New Fiscal Measures Set Out in the Road Transport Act’ organized by the Bulgarian Passenger Transport Federation and the ‘Buses and Vans’ magazine on 25^th January, 2013, at the Sofia Plaza hotel.

            Among the lecturers at the seminar were Ms. Reneta Alexandrova, Chief Expert of Revenues at the NRA (National Revenues Agency); Ms. Beata Petrova, Chief Specialist at the Controls Directorate of the NRA; Mr. Nikolay Valkov, Managing Director of the General Directorate  of Control Activities at the SMVI (State Motor Vehicle Inspectorate); eng. Georgi Milushev, President of the Bulgarian Passenger Transport Federation; Ms. Galia Topalova, President of the National Association of Bus Carriers; and Ms. Ina Stefanova from Daisy Technology. A message of congratulations from the Commission on Transport, Information Technologies, and Communications at the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria was read before the participants.

            The seminar turned into a lively discussion where representatives from the industry expressed their support for the changes, but categorically disagreed with the short time limit granted for the introduction of fiscal cash registers. The prolongation of the time limit by three months was said to be extremely inadequate for the almost 4,000 bus companies and the approximately 15,000 vehicles to be able to meet the requirements. The changes have also been accompanied by a lack of sufficient clarity regarding their practical implementation, and the drivers also need time in order to be trained.

            In connection with the above, the participants in the seminar are going to submit a petition  to the leaderships of the institutions with a direct impact on the adoption and the implementation of the Act. In this petition, they are going to express their questions and demands.

            Also during the event, the ‘Buses and Vans’ magazine bestowed its traditional annual national awards.

            The Award Recipients

            Vesselin Dozhkov, Manager of Hebros Bus OOD, the city of Plovdiv

            Operations manager in Bus Transport

            Eng. Vesselin Bozhkov has been the manager of the company Hebros Bus OOD since 2001. At present, the company operates about 56 routes between populated places, 11 lines  within the Municipal Transport Scheme of the city of Plovdiv, and 5 lines within the Municipal Transport Scheme of the city of Pazardjik. The bus fleet of the Company has now reached a total of 308 buses, while the personnel engaged in these operations consists of 762 persons. These numbers make Hebros Bus OOD a principal carrier in the region of Plovdiv. The Company owns the bus stations in the territory of the city of Plovdiv, and it also has its own modernized automotive service station for the technical servicing and maintenance of the existing fleet, also offering services to external parties. Since December of 2009, the company has been an official carrier in the Pazardjik region, and it also operates the bus station in the city of Pazardjik.

            Bus company Arda Tour EOOD, the city of Haskovo

            Innovation in the Development of a New Bus Line between Bulgaria and Greece

            The company was instituted in 1991. The sole owner of the capital is Mr. Sebahtin Ismail Ismail who was born in 1963, and who is an university graduate in law in possession of educational and qualification degree of Master in the specialty of Law, and has the professional qualifications of a LAWYER. The bus fleet of the company Arda Tour consists of 40 buses that meet the european criteria.

            Ms. Nadezhda Buhleva, Global Biomet EOOD, the city of Sofia

            The Best Employee in Bus Transport

            Ms. Buhleva is a university graduate with a degree in Business Administration from the New Bulgarian University. Since 2002, she has been working in the company, having occupied various positions, such as systems operator, organizer of fuel accounting, in sales and cash register accounting, as well as in cutomer relations. Since 2012, she is organizer of the Bus Transport depatrment.

            Lubrifilt EOOD

            Cooperation of Many Years with the ‘Buses and Vans’ Magazine

            The official representative for the country of the Petro-Canada lubricants and of the Donaldson filters. It offers a full range of lubricants and filters for passenger and freight vehicles and  buses. It also offers road transport, construction, and mining machinery and equipment.