As of July 1, Kumanovo is back to how it was - free city transport is over, and tickets are being paid for again. The municipal council decided to scrap the subsidy that had lasted around three and a half years, introduced back at the height of the energy crisis. Kumanovo residents now pay by zone: 30 denars for the first zone, then up - 40, 60, 80, 100, all the way to 120 denars for the sixth zone.

The municipality justified the subsidy with things that sound good on paper: lower costs for households, an incentive for people to use public transport instead of cars, less congestion and cleaner air. And for three and a half years, it was one of the few city measures that went directly into ordinary people's pockets.

But even while it lasted, the story wasn't unanimous. Some wanted it to continue forever, others argued the free ride should have been targeted - for pupils, students and the socially vulnerable, not for everyone. There were also complaints that buses were packed in the mornings, and that those on shorter routes benefited most. A classic Balkan dilemma: when something is free for everyone, is it fair, or is it just cheaper to scrap it than to fix it properly?

Now that the passenger foots the bill again, the question for the municipality stays open. If the reasons for the subsidy - fewer cars, cleaner air, an easier family budget - were valid three and a half years ago, what exactly changed today other than the money running out? Scrapping is the easiest move. The harder one, the one that takes work, would be to find a model where transport stays affordable for those who genuinely need it.