site.btaEducation Minister Valchev: Taxi Firms and Volunteers Ready to Take Sofia School Graduates to 21–23 May Exams if Strike Continues

Education and Science Minister Krasimir Valchev said on Sunday that taxi companies and volunteers stand ready to take Sofia’s school graduates to their matriculation exams if the city’s public-transport strike lasts through the exam days, 21 and 23 May.

A task force at the ministry has planned for this worst-case scenario. Sofia has about 11,000 candidates; headteachers report that roughly 300 have no alternative way to reach the examination centres.

Valchev noted strong public solidarity: parents, private transport operators and taxi firms have offered to drive students. He thanked them and stressed that postponing the exams is impossible because of the complexity of the testing calendar.

The ministry will deploy its entire vehicle and bus fleet. Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev and the Interior Minister have also pledged support. The municipality is considering lifting blue- and green-zone parking restrictions near schools and opening school yards to cars on the two exam days.

If a school loses large numbers of pupils to transport problems and declares a closure, classes will move online, Valchev said.

Sofia's surface transport remains blocked for a fifth consecutive day Sunday as the employees are protesting for better pay. The metro is not affected. Drivers have blocked the depots and are preventing cars from leaving the garages. They are protesting for a BGN 400 pay rise from March 1, 2025, as well as for the provision of sanitary facilities and toilets, improved lighting, heating and work uniform. The demands also include an increase in the cost of overheads for meals from BGN 15 to BGN 20 from March 1, 2025.

Earlier this week, Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev announced that if transport workers' unions decide to continue their strike and risk the future of these young people, the municipality will mobilize all available resources to help students reach their exam locations on time.