By AZE.US
Baku could face near-total traffic paralysis within two or three years if the number of vehicles continues to rise at its current pace, former Azerbaijani Finance Minister Fikret Yusifov has warned.
Speaking on Prime Time Azerbaijan’s “Red Table” program, Yusifov said approximately 110,000 vehicles were being imported into Azerbaijan annually. About 95% were passenger cars, and more than 80% of them remained on the Absheron Peninsula.
At the same time, the capital has limited space to widen existing streets or construct new roads in densely developed districts. Traffic demand is therefore increasing much faster than the city’s road capacity.
If the trend continues, Yusifov warned, Baku could effectively grind to a halt within several years.
Baku Needs More Than Additional Bus Lanes
Yusifov noted that other major cities had experienced similar crises. In many cases, severe congestion prompted authorities to redesign their transport systems, construct bypass roads and develop alternative forms of public transportation.
He argued that Baku needed a comprehensive transport model rather than isolated bus lanes and individual road repairs.
Among the possible solutions, Yusifov proposed building a coastal road and using the Caspian Sea for passenger transportation. Water buses could connect different parts of Baku and eventually link the capital with other coastal communities.
Such projects would not provide an immediate solution, but they could create additional transport capacity without placing further pressure on already congested streets.
Azerbaijan’s Roads All Lead to Baku
Economist and REAL Party Chairman Natig Jafarli said congestion was a consequence of the excessive concentration of economic, educational and cultural life in the capital.
Around 4 million people now live in Baku and on the Absheron Peninsula, according to his estimate. The area contains most of the country’s leading universities, government institutions, major employers, cultural venues and service-sector opportunities.
People naturally move to the city where these opportunities are concentrated, Jafarli said.
Azerbaijan has not succeeded in developing a second major center capable of competing with Baku. Even people with homes and relatively good salaries in the regions often seek to relocate because the capital offers a wider range of social and cultural opportunities.
Jafarli cited Khankendi as a positive example. The opening of a university brought several thousand students to the city, stimulating demand for cafes, restaurants and other services.
If the student population eventually reaches 15,000 to 20,000, he said, education could become one of the main engines of the local economy.
Regional Spending Failed to Stop Migration
Jafarli recalled that Azerbaijan had implemented three regional development programs over the past several decades. Previously announced official estimates placed total investment at around 120 billion manats, or $70.6 billion.
Despite that spending, the regions have not sufficiently increased their contribution to GDP, exports or business activity, he argued.
Migration to Baku has continued, placing additional pressure on the capital’s roads, housing market and public infrastructure.
One way to reduce that pressure would be to gradually relocate some government agencies, universities and major employers to other cities.
Without jobs, educational institutions and public services outside the capital, transport policy alone will not stop people from moving to Baku.
One City, Multiple Authorities
The experts also identified fragmented governance as a major obstacle.
Baku’s metro, buses, roads, water supply, sewerage system and other infrastructure are managed by separate state bodies. Each institution has its own responsibilities, but no single authority is fully accountable for the city as a whole.
Jafarli proposed establishing a metropolitan municipal system, forming a Baku city government and introducing mayoral elections. Such a model, he argued, would place both authority and responsibility in one center.
He also criticized the timing of major road repairs and bus-route changes immediately before the start of the academic year.
New traffic arrangements should have been introduced in May, he said, allowing authorities to test them during the quieter summer months and correct problems before schools and universities reopened.
A Single Ticket for Buses and the Metro
Jafarli also proposed an integrated public-transport ticket valid for a fixed period – one hour, one day, one week or one month.
Passengers could use the same ticket to transfer between buses and the metro without paying the full fare again. Such systems encourage commuters to leave their cars at home by making public transportation more convenient and predictable.
The experts concluded that new roads and bus routes alone would not resolve Baku’s transport crisis.
Without economic decentralization, stronger regional cities and a unified system of metropolitan government, the number of vehicles will continue to rise faster than Baku’s ability to accommodate them.
AZE.US