From September 1, bus fares will have to be paid upon entry.

Starting September 1, 2026, Uzbekistan will introduce a new fare collection rule for city buses operating under gross contracts: passengers will be required to pay their fare immediately upon boarding, rather than upon exiting.

A gross contract is an agreement between a city and a transport company in which the carrier's income is not dependent on the number of passengers or the fare collected. Instead, the state or the customer pays the carrier based on the established fare and the volume of transportation services provided.

Mukhammadjon Kakhkhorov, Director of the State Institution "Monitoring and Control of Passenger Transportation in Tashkent," told Uzbekistan 24 TV channel that this change is being implemented in accordance with a Cabinet of Ministers resolution.

"If a passenger fails to pay their fare after boarding, they will be considered fare dodgers. Controllers will be able to impose fines on such individuals in accordance with Part 5 of Article 144 of the Administrative Code," Mukhammadjon Kakhkhorov explained.

To verify payment, each inspector has a special tablet that allows them to check a passenger's transport or bank card and confirm payment.

"Over the first seven months of this year, more than 82,000 passengers were identified for not paying their fares. Over 2 billion soums in fines were collected from violators," the Director of the Main Directorate added.

Fare payments are still possible using a transport or social card through a validator, a bank card, a smartphone, and other contactless methods.

According to Mukhammadzhon Kakhkhorov, the Cabinet of Ministers' resolution also instructs the development of proposals to tighten penalties for fare evasion. The relevant proposals have already been prepared and submitted to the Legislative Chamber.

It is proposed to set the fine for a first violation at half the basic calculation amount (BCA) – 220,000 soums, and for a repeat violation, one BCA, or 440,000 soums.

Kakhkhorov noted that these changes are aimed at ensuring full accounting of fares and increasing the transparency of bus operations.

Furthermore, fare and passenger flow data will allow for more accurate determination of the number of passengers at each stop and at different times, which, in turn, will facilitate more efficient public transport planning and route coordination.