The Bulgarian political party "Spasi Sofia" (Save Sofia) has raised concerns about the hygiene practices in Sofia's public transport system, claiming that trams are being cleaned with alcohol (in this case rakia) and personal vacuum cleaners. The party shared a video on its Facebook page, showing municipal councilor Boris Bonev and his team inspecting the "Banishora" depot to assess the cleaning standards of the city's trams.

In the video, Sofia Municipality's Deputy Mayor for Transport, Iliyan Pavlov, from the "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria-Spasi Sofia" (WCC-DB-SS) group, asks employees how the trams are cleaned. One worker explains that she uses water and rakia to clean the windows, stating that this method was used because the tram was to be showcased at an exhibition. When asked about cleaning the seats, the same employee revealed that she uses her personal vacuum cleaner instead of the one provided by the company, despite the contract with Sofia Municipality specifying that the seats should be washed.

Pavlov pointed out that seat hygiene is essential for passengers, but the employees argued that since the seats were new, there was no need for regular cleaning. The deputy mayor also commented on the state of the tram handles, describing them as sticky and stressing that they should be cleaned daily.

The Sofia Municipality has allocated an annual budget of 700,000 leva (around 350,000 euros) for cleaning public transport. However, "Spasi Sofia" criticized the current situation, noting that the trams are being manually cleaned with insufficient equipment. The party vowed to take action by purchasing new cleaning equipment, increasing oversight, and bringing cleaning operations back under municipal control.

Iliyan Pavlov stated that he will ensure contracts are upheld and that trams are thoroughly cleaned at least twice a month. "Spasi Sofia" also announced plans to continue inspections of other depots and public transport garages in the city.

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