OREANDA-NEWS. December 31, 2008. Nikolai Asaul, Chairman of St. Petersburg Committee for Transit Transport Policy, and Evgeni Zubarev, President of St. Petersburg Passenger Vessel Owners Association, have signed a protocol regulating cooperation of the parties in the sphere of St. Petersburg water transport, CTTP press center reports. The document states that the parties are interested in further development of water transportation activities. Both parties of the present document assume joint cooperation in development of measures aimed at gradual salvation of transport problems in the city, decrease of load on the city’s thoroughfare through redirection of passenger flows in the center from land to water transport.

Having exchanged the opinions and discussed the Parties’ positions on organization and development of passenger transportation by St. PetersburgSt. Petersburg: water transport when it comes to transport, tour and pleasure routs, the Parties came to a conclusion that those routes need further improvement in terms of equipment of both the fleet and the shore infrastructure. The Committee and the Association have expressed their mutual interest in achievement of the following purposes for creation of up-to-date system of water transport in

Development of programs aimed at further improvement and development of the fleet;
Development of infrastructure ensuring quality and efficiency of water transport system;
Development of measures to prevent emergencies involving water transport;
Ensuring centralized control of passenger vessels traffic at St. Petersburg inland waterways;

Coordinating the traffic of vessels providing regular passenger services with other types of municipal transport.

On the threshold of the coming navigation season, CTTP approved the procedure developed by the Association on granting the right to use municipal berth infrastructure.  CTTP does not mind extension of agreement on leasing embankments (slopes) with honest shipping companies. Such leasing agreements are to include a provision ensuring an access to the leased facilities for the participants of municipal programs of individual water taxi and transportation according to regulated tariffs to create conditions of safe boarding and landing. If the embankment (slope) is included into the system of transport routes, a leaseholder is to ensure legal and technical conditions for installation of water transport infrastructure owned by St. Petersburg.
By January 20, 2009 the Association is to furnish the Committee with a list of the existing berth infrastructure so that it could be properly prepared for the navigation of 2009.