In the capital of Ukraine will return the fare in public transport, said the mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko.
“We are already switching to paid travel in public transport,” Klitschko said on the air of the National Telethon on Tuesday.
At the same time, the mayor of the city did not specify when exactly the paid travel would resume, but noted that the price for it remains the same (UAH 8).
Klitschko explained the restoration of paid travel in public transport by the need to replenish the city budget.
“We understand that we now have a large amount of energy resources that we need, and electricity, and wages for our utilities, employees, and I can honestly say that the city will not pull, because the budget must be replenished,” the mayor said.
As reported, since February 24, due to the martial law associated with the military aggression of the Russian Federation, public transport in the capital has been free of charge.
Prices for public transport will be raised in Kyiv, First Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Mykola Povoroznyk said.
“This is an unpopular step that we have to take in order to maintain the stable operation of municipal carriers. Today, in the face of rising energy tariffs, leaving the fare at the current level means driving carriers into debt holes, and subsequently paralyzing the work of transport companies. Therefore, we are forced to begin the procedure for increasing the tariff. Now we are awaiting proposals from utilities regarding the economic feasibility of the tariff. After that, a reasonable fare will be formed, and we will submit a proposal for public discussion,” Povoroznyk said, according to the statement of the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration.
He also said that in the summer the cost of travel increased in many cities of Ukraine: in Lviv, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia and others, while Kyiv authorities postponed the moment of increasing tariffs.
“Today, when the city has taken measures not to increase the tariff for heating agents for the population, but to compensate for the difference at the expense of the local budget, it is simply impossible to increase funding for the already subsidized public transport. Such a step could lead to underfunding of city programs, which are critically important for many people in Kyiv,” Povoroznyk said.
He separately noted that at the same time, all available travel benefits for Kyiv residents will remain.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) could provide a loan of EUR 250 million to implement Ukraine Public Transport Framework II, according to a posting on the EBRD’s website.
According to the report, the decision to provide financing the EBRD board is to discuss on July 24, 2019.
“The EBRD will be signing loan agreements with respective companies and guarantee and project support agreements with respective cities. Each loan will be guaranteed by the respective municipality,” the bank said.
The investments will primarily focus on transport renewal (acquisition of new trolleybuses, buses, trams and metro cars as applicable) and the rehabilitation and/or modernisation of public transport infrastructure including automated fare collection, automatic vehicle location and traffic management systems.
As reported, in October 2015, the EBRD approved the provision of EUR 100 million under Ukraine Public Transport Framework.
