Hundreds of tourist workers signed a petition for the return of tourist bus stops in Zagreb

By decision Traffic Sector of the Zagreb City Office for Reconstruction, Construction, Spatial Planning, Construction, Communal Affairs and Traffic  the stop for tourist buses in Palmotićeva and the parking lot in Vončinina Street were permanently abolished.

The transport sector has made three locations available to tourist buses: Main Station, Mažuranić Square and the east parking lot at the Zagreb Fair.

The decision to cancel the stops and parking lots was made before the beginning of Advent in Zagreb, as a measure that will be in effect during Advent, but it was emphasized that there is a high possibility that it will remain in effect after that.

Sabina Fučić, tourist guide and member Association of Tourist Guides of the City of Zagreb, To Society of Tourist Guides of Zagreb and the Central Croatian Macroregion launched at the end of January online petition for the re-establishment of the tourist bus stop on Palmotićeva Street and the parking lot on Vončinina Street in Zagreb, stating that it is certain that the implementation of the decision could lead to a series of organizational and logistical problems, which could negatively affect the number of tourist groups in Zagreb in a very short period of time.

"After our associations sent a letter to the authorities in response to the information about this decision, which was made very suddenly, and after it became clear that the measure from the decision remains permanent, I concluded that it would be best to create a platform through which tourism workers will be able to express their opinion on this decision, about which no one consulted them", explained Sabina Fučić.

Disturbed by the said decision, several hundred tourist guides, tour leaders, bus drivers and travel agencies have meanwhile signed a petition and commented on the controversial decision.

With regard to the detailed plans of round trips, group tours of Zagreb are extremely limited in time and do not tolerate major changes. With the new provisions, the tours should be extended by an hour and it is inevitable that this would cause negative reactions among many clients, and lead to the cancellation of the tours and the exclusion of Zagreb from the travel program.

"Due to this provision, Zagreb could be removed as a destination from the tourist routes of group trips in Croatia. After the earthquake, not a single sacred building in the city center is open to visitors, a large number of buildings are covered with scaffolding, and one of the most picturesque squares, St. .Marka, you are looking from the road behind the fence. All of the above and much more make Zagreb less and less attractive and it has been noticed that it is omitted as a destination in some itineraries.", she commented Petra Cukrov Ćurčija, president of the Association of Guides of the City of Zagreb.

A significant reduction in the number of groups would affect not only the business of travel agencies and guides, but also restaurateurs and owners of souvenir shops and other retailers in the city center.  

The signatories of the petition believe that for the status of Zagreb as a tourist destination, it is extremely important that tourist buses once again get the opportunity to stop in Palmotićeva street for the purpose of boarding and disembarking tourists, and to park in Vončinina street.

Foreign and domestic agencies have a carefully planned time schedule of round trips in which there is no room for major changes, and among other things, you should also take into account the working hours and mandatory rest of the driver.

"It is necessary that the disembarkation/boarding of passengers is at Palmotićeva and the parking lot at Vončinina, because otherwise the legal provisions on driver's working hours and duration of mandatory rest cannot be respected. Namely, the driver must take a legal break after a certain driving time, but if the parking lot is far away from the very center of the city due to congestion, the driver may run out of driving hours and is forced to park the vehicle at the last minute that is written on the tachograph. In other words, if the driver has to take a break, he has to do it anywhere on the road because the inspection control does not see the location when checking tachograph card. The law is such that they don't care where the driver was at the time, and the penalties are extremely rigorous. For the sake of the driver, it is extremely important that the place for boarding and disembarking and the parking lot return to their old locations.", she commented Andrea Sesar from the Four travel agency. 

As the next step in the effort to return the bus stop and parking lot to function, Fučić announced that a letter will be sent to several relevant addresses on behalf of all associations and tourism workers in the next few days.

The solution to the problem may lie in the way other destinations approach the issue of boarding and disembarking guests on organized tours  

"Several signatories wrote in the comments how this was solved in other destinations. Bus stops are mostly located near historical landmarks, both in our country and in the world, and bus parking lots are nearby so that drivers can rest. In Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar, but also Vienna, Prague, Barcelona and Munich, the stops are 3 to 5 minutes' walk from the main sights., noted Fučić.

"Every city that has tourism as one of the key green economic branches and sources of income in its development strategy must also have adequate logistical solutions for the boarding/disembarking of passengers. It is impossible to expect adaptation from stakeholders in tourism where guests must first walk 30 minutes to get to historical core", emphasized Mario Magdić in his comment on the petition. 

This is precisely why a considerable number of Zagreb tourism workers once again appeal to the Traffic Department of the City Office for Reconstruction, Construction, Spatial Planning, Construction, Communal Affairs and Traffic to re-establish the stop for tourist buses in Palmotićeva and the parking lot in Vončinina Street in Zagreb in order to avoid organizational , logistical and traffic chaos, and contributed to preserving the reached level of tourist traffic in Zagreb.

Za reestablishing the stop for tourist buses on Palmotićeva street and the parking lot on Vončinina street in Zagreb, you can sign the online petition HERE