NB: This story has been modified, correcting the specifics of the government order.
MOSCOW, October 3 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian government has ordered price caps for plane and train tickets to the southern resort city of Sochi, where the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games will be held in February and March 2014, and for several types of services in the city, according to a document signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
The order, dated September 30 but posted on the government’s website Thursday, says the price regulations were one of the obligations undertaken by Russia in its Olympic bid.
The document sets deadlines for price regulation for plane and train travel to and from the Krasnodar Territory, where Sochi is located, between November 1 and April 16, 2014.
The fares for taxis and minivans and prices for laundry and dry-cleaning services in Sochi will also be frozen between January 7 and April 16.
The details of the price freeze must be ironed out by the federal Transport Ministry and the Sochi city government, which are to draw up agreements with the relevant service providers by October 31.
Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov proposed freezing plane and train prices for the Games last March, citing fears that higher prices would discourage potential attendees from making the journey.
Currently, a roundtrip Aeroflot ticket from Moscow to Sochi costs around 9,000 rubles ($280).
