A modern-day Robin Hood took to his bicycle in well-below sub-zero Siberian winter to protest recent hikes in bus fares.
Nikita Shostak was spotted cycling in minus 40 degrees Celsius in the western Siberian oil capital of Surgut on Sunday with a sign taped to his back reading “no money left for the bus.”
“I wanted to draw attention to the sharp rise in bus fares,” Shostak told the ura.ru news website. “This is a serious issue for vulnerable groups — pensioners, children, students.”
“I believe they didn’t explain to the people what caused such a sharp — almost double — rise in prices,” he added.
Surgut city authorities introduced higher bus fares this month following the Transport Ministry’s October proposal to allow regions to charge higher rates during peak hours.
Surgut’s City Hall on Monday was cited by ura.ru as saying it was in talks with carriers “on a minimal increase in tariffs.”
“We recommend Nikita and all residents of Surgut to dress warmer and get to school and work using safer routes,” the mayor’s office was cited as saying.
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