Dushanbe authorities intend to remove fixed-route minivans from the city streets in the first half of 2017.

They are expected to be replaced with buses and trolleybuses and private taxies will also remain in the city, Ghayurbek Iskandarov, the head of Dushanbenaqliyotkhizmatrason (public transport service), told Asia-Plus in an interview.

“This decision is aimed at reducing traffic flow and traffic jams in the city,” Iskandarov said, noting that more than 3,031 minivans are currently running in the city.  

“We intend to replace eight minivans with one bus or trolleybus,” said the Dushanbe transport official.  “The new buses and trolleybuses are expected to arrive in Dushanbe in April or May.” 

He further added that the Dushanbe administration would announce an international tender for selection of passenger transport supplier.  

For many Dushanbe drivers, these minivans became an important source of income.  Many of them took out loans to buy the vehicles while others leased them.

Recall, the Tajik authorities in 2010 banned drivers of eight-seat Chinese Hafei minivans from carrying passengers in the capital Dushanbe, putting out of work hundreds who used these relatively affordable vehicles to ferry residents around the Tajik capital.  The authorities said the ban was motivated by passenger safety concerns, contending that the minivans were a source of frequent traffic accidents.

But in tandem with the ban, more spacious, comfortable and safe Hyundai and Mercedes vans replaced the Chinese minivans.

When the Chinese minivans first appeared on the streets of Dushanbe around 2006, drivers and passengers affectionately dubbed them the Tangem, named after a female Korean soap opera star popular on local television.