Buses belonging to the ‘Joe Travel’ firm have been banned from entering the territory of Kosovo, claimed its owner, Goran Antic, announcing that the company will most likely stop operating, at least for the time being. Antic says that the ban was imposed because the company’s license under the Kosovo law expired, and is therefore not allowed to provide regular transportation services on the account of the buses having Serbian license plates. On the other hand, he emphasized that the company is registered in Novi Pazar.
While not ruling out the possibility that the decision was made in accordance with Kosovo laws, Antic believes that he is being discriminated against, because only his buses were banned. „If it is forbidden to carry out regular transportation service with non-Kosovo license plates, then this must apply to everyone,“ he stressed.
Antic states that a bus in his ownership was banned from entering Kosovo via the Jarinje crossing yesterday, resulting in the vehicle being left stranded on the other side of the crossing.
The vehicles of this company, which operate on the routes between North Kosovo and Serbia proper, are allowed to leave the territory of Kosovo – but not to return.
„Due to the new situation, transportation will be reduced in the coming days, and maybe even completely suspended,“ Antic said, while issuing an apology to the passengers.
The owner of „Joe Travel“ claims that the Kosovo Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure sent a letter to the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs stating that his company’s buses are prohibited from entering the territory of Kosovo because their license has expired.
Antic confirmed that the license has expired, but also says that his company, apart from being registered under the Kosovo system in Mitrovica, is also registered in the Serbian one, in Novi Pazar, and that all of his vehicles are registered in this town. He stressed that these two companies are not related.
„We currently have 15 buses and minibuses that are registered with ‘Joe Travel Novi Pazar’, so ‘Joe Travel Severna Mitrovica’ has nothing to do with ‘Joe Travel’ in Novi Pazar,“ he alleged.
He added that the Novi Pazar-based company has a license for international transport, and says that he even provided transportation services to Greece during the summer.
KoSSev’s interlocutor contacted the inspection in the Kosovo government yesterday.
He revealed that they told him that his license had expired, but also that he could not conclude an agreement with another transport company in order to work with their license, because the vehicles were „registered in another country“.
According to Antic, this is an incomplete application of the law, alluding that there are companies all over Kosovo with vehicles with Serbian license plates, that operate without problems, that is, they have made some kind of lease agreement with another company.
„It is only me that they don’t allow regular transportation. If it were the same for the others if no one could offer transport services with Serbian license plates in Kosovo, I would understand that,“ says Antic.
He noted that in that case, he would ask the Government of Serbia to introduce reciprocity to transportation companies with RKS license plates.
They are harassing us, so you should harass them. Or make a deal and let us live
Antic does not rule out that such a decision is politically motivated.
„Who am I bothering – it’s irrelevant, but it’s probably politically motivated, since I criticize both the regime in Belgrade and Pristina, and they are now putting pressure on me.“
He also says that if he decides to renew the Kosovo license, it will take a lot of time, but also a larger amount of money, because he would have to have at least two vehicles with RKS license plates.
„What am I left to do but to re-register vehicles with NP plates – to have double license plates, that is, RKS plates as well? For that, I need to pay the customs fee – 3,500 to 4,000 euros, plus registration, license fees and it would take more than a month’s time,“ he said.
He specified that he previously had a Kosovo license for „international transport“, as well as buses with KS plates, but also says that these vehicles are no longer in use, that is, they are old and on the scrap heap.
Antic announces that he will go to Pristina today to the relevant ministry, in order to get more details.
He also announced a lawsuit for discrimination against those responsible for issuing the letter banning his vehicles from entering Kosovo.
„I have evidence that Kolasin’s buses are entering Kosovo, if necessary, I will also go to Merdare to see who is entering Kosovo with Serbian license plates,“ he said.
He reiterated that „Joe Travel“ will most likely stop operating for the time being, that is, it will stop transporting passengers, and that it will decide on the next steps after acquiring more information about the case.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
