The desk where the conductor issues tickets inside the office of Noah Transport, S.C., close to Estifanos Church and opposite Mesqel Square, takes up nearly half of the space inside the small room. A chair behind the desk where the conductor sits and two adjacent benches, reserved for customers, take up the rest of the area.

The conductor is unusually busy responding to queries about the resumption of transport services to Alamata, a weredalocated in the southernmost tip of Tigray Regional State. He reassures inquirers, to their delight, that the bus is scheduled to go in a couple of days, and they can purchase tickets until then.

The ticket office is one of many that line the street, each with their own distinctive name and advertising on the front. Over the past two days, sales agents, who roam the nearby areas looking for potential travelers, have added Alamata to the routes they advertise.

Girmaye Woldu, an older man who lives in Addis Abeba, has come to the ticket office as he had also heard that the roads to the region have reopened. His 91-year-old mother lives in Meqelle, and he is hoping to deliver some much-needed medicine to her.

"She has nerve problems," he said. "She can't get her medicine in the country."

Girmaye has not heard anything from his mother or other family members since an armed conflict broke out in the region in early November. Telecommunications, power and transportation have all been cut off in the Regional State following a law enforcement operation launched by the federal government against the region's former administration.

With federal government forces claiming victory over Meqelle, the region's capital, at the end of last month, the partial restoration of transport and communications lines to some outlying towns have given hope to many. The latest has been the reopening of telecom services in Alamata, as well as the recommencement of transportation between the town and the regional capital. Girmaye is planning to head there himself and send the medicine through a car from Alamata to Meqelle.

"I've heard that smaller cars are going to Meqelle," he said. "I'm willing to pay any price to drivers to deliver her medicine."

The Wereda's main bus station has reopened since its closure following the declaration of a state of emergency in the Regional State. This is a relief not only for Girmaye but also for the luxury bus companies that have taken a massive hit to their income due to the conflict.

The luxury buses that these companies manage are different from the regular buses operating in the country for many reasons. For one, they require much more investment with prices for a single bus ranging up to six million Birr, more than double that of their regular counterparts. These buses also offer different amenities like air conditioning and wifi services, among others.

Secondly, they operate based on the demand of passengers, unlike regular buses. As long as they have the license to operate and a branch office at the destination of choice, among other requirements, the routes are theirs to operate as they see fit. The regular buses, on the other hand, have a mandated monthly schedule subject to pre-approval by the Federal Transport Authority, which puts the overall number of cross country transport buses in the country at over 1,600, operating across 224 routes.

And while the luxury buses charge as much as double the fares of regular ones, they are currently the only form of public transport heading to the Regional State.

Companies like Walia Inter-City Bus Service Enterprise used to make over 31,000 Br on a single trip to Meqelle, its longest and highest-paying route; an income that has now ceased due to the conflict. Like many operators, it used to make one regular trip a day to Meqelle but would add two or three more to the schedule depending on demand.

But the escalating security fears, coupled with the pandemic, had slowed down work long before the conflict began. These conditions have also affected the income of sales agents that make about 20 Br in commission for getting a person to buy a bus ticket. Ashenafi Minsemo, one of several agents, scouring for travelers in Meskel Square, used to find 10 to 15 customers a day.

"Nowadays, I only get four or five people, and there are even times when I get none," lamented Ashenafi. "People are afraid to travel, and that leaves me with nothing, which is very tough."

Other cross-country operators have even had to allocate their buses to the federal government. Habesha first level cross-country transport has handed over 12 of its 106 buses to the Defense Forces in Meqelle, and another 30 buses are currently operating as support for Sheger Bus in Addis Abeba.

"We used to operate 129 different routes, but we're now limited to the south and east [of the country] only," said Abraham Urkato, the manager of the company.

The total shutdown of routes to the Regional State notwithstanding, the conflict has also slowed activity on all routes to and from the capital. The disparity in frequency of travelling buses has impacted the income [of operators] by the millions, according to Muluken Melese, chairman of the Luxury Buses Coordinating Team, which has 16 member companies and 340 active buses.