In Almaty on 1 September, passengers noticed a large crowd of people in the metro. A video from one of the stations was published on social media.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE METRO
The author of the video described the situation in the underground as a "collapse". The published footage shows a large number of passengers at the station.
On the same day, city residents followed the authorities' recommendation to use public transport more often and, where possible, to give up their private cars.
WHAT MEASURES WERE INTRODUCED IN ALMATY
According to the Almaty city administration, in the first days of September the city expected a significant increase in pressure on transport infrastructure due to the start of the new academic year.
To reduce the transport burden, large companies, banks and other organisations in the city centre were recommended to consider temporarily moving some employees to remote working or flexible start times for the working day.
The structural divisions of the city administration and their subordinate organisations are taking measures to move some employees to remote working from 1 to 5 September 2026.
HOW PUBLIC TRANSPORT OPERATION WAS CHANGED
The city administration reported that public transport services would be strengthened during the first two weeks of the academic year. In addition to the existing 3,200 buses, around 500 buses were allocated from the reserve.
The authorities also reported an increase in the number of metro trains from 11 to 13 sets. According to the city administration, this should reduce the interval between trains during the morning hours to 3 minutes.
