Due to the lack of central planning, there were no maps indicating the new routes of the marshrutki. The drivers frequently had to choose narrow streets in formerly quiet districts and the new routes demanded more time and gasoline, although it was impossible to increase the fare. Additionally, the newly introduced busses on the main streets were mostly overcrowded or inefficient.

These recent changes in the transportation regime of Tbilisi were at the centre of a social anthropological research project conducted by students of the Tbilisi State University in spring 2006. The project, which was supported and financed by the AFP program of the Open Society Georgia Foundation and led by Dr. Florian Mühlfried, was based on two seminars at the department of sociology in 2005 and 2006. The actual fieldwork was conducted by ten students, each studying five lines respectively. The lines were chosen from a list of marshrutki provided by the municipality. In order to cover a wide range of marshrutki, the lines were divided into four groups, according to their route (long distance: centre-periphery and periphery-periphery; and short distance: centre-centre and periphery-periphery).

One of the most striking results of the fieldwork was that the vast majority of minibuses were reported to have an unofficial, thus unregistered “owner”. In most cases, the drivers were reluctant to provide further information about the “owner”, but most reported paying about half of their income to this person. Most of the drivers interviewed qualified the remaining income as being hardly sufficient to cover the basic costs for a family.

This information was supported by an informal interview conducted with a middle-class bureaucrat working for the public transportation system at the municipality of Tbilisi. His main concern was that the recent attempts of state authorities to gain control over the transportation sector would cause upheaval in the criminal world. He confirmed the rumor that most of the lines were “owned” by “thieves in law”. These criminal authorities play an important role in the economic life of Georgia and were tolerated under the former president Shevardnadze.

Additionally, these criminal authorities are strongly embedded in urban neighborhoods, where they have been respected as “honorable persons” and are occasionally used as mediators in cases of conflict. This social rooting, as well as their strong position in the economic life of Georgia render the task of breaking down their structure very delicate. This implies the attempt to take over control of the transportation system.

Thus, the system of minibuses in Tbilisi is not so much organized “from below” as it seemed at first glance. The recent changes in the transportation regime of Tbilisi indicate a confrontation between the new state authorities and older, well-established authorities with more than a foot in the criminal world. This confrontation is probably behind the prison riots in spring 2006 and the brutal reaction of the Georgian police and military. But this assumption remains to be properly researched.

However, certain observers would consider it a loss if the almost self-regulating and apparently efficient system of minibuses were abolished or over-regulated. This opinion is reflected in the responses of the passengers interviewed, who generally evaluate traveling by marshrutki positively and choose this means of transportation despite having alternatives (especially buses) for the route at hand. The most important reason for choosing minibuses is speed. Yet, it is precisely this same factor that was the cause of many road accidents in recent years in Tbilisi and for which this system has been deemed dangerous by other observers.