Bizarre action: City replaces public buses with prisoner transport vehicles

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Russia) – Let’s see one here Commute or an arrest? In a Russian city, going to the office currently feels like being transported to prison. Because instead of buses, prisoner transporters roll through the streets.

What sounds absurd and looks bizarre is bitter everyday life. In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the capital of the eastern Kamchatka region, citizens are currently being… prison transport vehicles the National Guard “Rosgvardiya”. The reason: A massive snowstorm paralyzed the city.

Snowstorm paralyzes city

The Winter Everything is currently changing: the streets are closed, buses can no longer get through. Snowdrifts are disrupting the everyday lives of the approximately 179,000 residents. According to local media, there have been several accidents in the past few days. A report from “gazeta.ru” states that a car even rolled over.

Mountains of snow buried vehicles and entrances to buildings were blocked. Public transport came to an almost complete standstill because buses got stuck in the snow.

Emergency solution: transporter for prisoners

The city took an unusual measure. Instead of regular buses, so-called “Autozak” – vehicles that are normally used to transport prisoners – now run. Photos show commuters behind bars. People sit on benches and look out through barred windows Blizzard. It seems like a trip to prison – except that the destination is the workplace or the end of the day.

The authorities officially confirmed the operation. The vehicles, which “outwardly resemble prisoner transport vehicles,” the administration said, would be used temporarily to transport people, it said. There are currently two transporters in use. How long the bizarre emergency solution will remain necessary remains to be seen. One thing is clear: the commute to work in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is currently anything but normal.