MODERNIZATION OF URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEMS UNDER MARKET ECONOMY CONDITIONS: A CASE STUDY OF TASHKENT METRO

Under the conditions of a developed market economy, qualitatively new and large-scale requirements are being imposed on the goals, objectives, and forms of improving the urban public transport (UPT) management system. This article analyzes the socio-economic significance of UPT through the lens of a unified transport network, emphasizing the structural and financial transformations within the Tashkent Metro system. Based on empirical data from the last decade, the study examines the correlation between passenger traffic growth, operational costs (tariffs vs. prime costs), and infrastructure constraints - specifically rolling stock depreciation. The findings indicate that while integration and infrastructure expansion (from 38 km to 59 km) have doubled passenger capacity, sharp disparities between state-regulated tariffs and market-driven operational costs create significant financial bottlenecks that require strategic state intervention and digitalization.