Bus routes open to territories liberated from occupation
Under the leadership of victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief President Ilham Aliyev, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was restored and the foundation was laid for the Great Return to our historical lands. Today, one of the priorities of state policy is to carry out restoration and reconstruction work in the liberated territories, to build the necessary infrastructure, to create conditions for living and economic activities of citizens wishing to return to their native lands.
The activities of the Coordination Headquarters, established by Order No. 2303 of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev dated November 24, 2020 in connection with the centralized solution of issues in the territories liberated from occupation, continue in accordance with the strategic directions and tasks set by the President for carrying out constructive work in those territories.
One of the main points of the purposeful activity carried out in the direction of the restoration and reconstruction of the liberated territories is to ensure the speedy return of Azerbaijani citizens to their native lands in safe manner. As part of the work carried out in this direction, in order to gradually organize regular trips of citizens to these territories, the State Road Transport Service under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport opens bus routes to the territories liberated from occupation.
This was announced at a briefing held in connection with the opening of regular bus routes to the territories liberated from occupation.
In connection with the organization of regular trips of people from various social groups to the territories liberated from occupation and the expansion of reconstruction work, a large number of workers sent on the basis of appropriate permission, necessitates the opening of regular bus routes. To that end, at the first stage, it was decided to open regular bus routes to the most in-demand directions, taking into account the safety of traffic and passengers.
Regular intercity bus routes Baku – Shusha, Baku –Agdam, Ahmedbeyli –Shusha, Fizuli International Airport –Shusha, Barda –Aghdam will be launched on January 24. Test runs have already been carried out on each route, the classes of buses that will be operated have been determined. Trips will be organized on the Ahmedbeyli –Shusha route four times a week, to other destinations – twice a week. The activities of the bus route Fizuli –Shusha International Airport will be coordinated with air travels.
In the following days, there will be an online sale of tickets for these route lines.
Citizens can buy tickets online through the “Our Way to Karabakh” portal.
Passengers must also book return tickets in advance.
Individual privileged persons have the opportunity to receive free tickets to these destinations once a year. This category includes the heroes of the Patriotic War, National Heroes, members of martyr families, invalids of the Karabakh War. All persons, including the privileged, have the right to visit the liberated territories only once a year.
In order to ensure queueing for certain categories of passengers, compliance with quotas and application of benefits, an online ticketing service is integrated into the system of access to the liberated territories, as well as relevant information systems to minimize the risk of COVID -19 contamination.
To ensure traffic safety, the route scheme and parking places have been defined together with the relevant authorities.
Drivers who will carry passengers on the new routes have been involved in mine safety trainings and provided with basic safety manuals. Mine safety videos will be shown on buses to inform and instruct passengers. Each seat will also have a brochure with instructions on mine safety. The buses are equipped with first-aid kits.
