Kyiv Plans to Raise Public Transport Fare to 20 UAH

The unlimited student pass would cost more than the entire scholarship.

In Kyiv, starting January 1, 2022, the city plans to raise the single fare for communal public transport from UAH 8 to UAH 20.

Members of parliament have already criticized the initiative of the city authorities from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada, while the Regulatory Service hinted that it could ban the price increase.

However, several months ago Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that “transport in the city will get more expensive, but not to 20-25 UAH”.

Price increase

First Deputy Chairman of the Kyiv City State Administration Mykola Povoroznyk announced the fare increase.

According to him, a single trip on communal transport (metro, tram, trolleybus, bus) will cost UAH 20 if a single ticket is purchased.

With an electronic ticket, the cost of a trip will be from UAH 15 to UAH 20: UAH 15 when buying 50 trips, UAH 20 when buying from one to nine trips.

Monthly passes with discounts will remain: one trip will cost from UAH 14.20 to UAH 14.50 depending on the type of pass. Passes for 24, 48 and 72 hours also remain. Benefits for socially vulnerable categories of the population are also preserved. 

New prices for passes:

• for 46 trips — UAH 667 (instead of UAH 290), for students UAH 333.5 (145), for schoolchildren 166.75 (72.5);
• for 62 trips — UAH 893 (instead of 390), for students UAH 446.5 (195), for schoolchildren 223.25 (97.5);
• for 92 trips – UAH 1316 (instead of UAH 575), for students 658 (287.5), for schoolchildren 329 (143.75).

The reason for the fare increase is a “significant rise in the cost of components and, accordingly, of the economically justified fare”.

Thus, since the last increase in 2018, inflation has amounted to 30.6%, while the minimum and average wages have risen by 75% and 54%, respectively. Energy prices have also gone up: electricity by 84% and diesel fuel by 22.5%.

Local authorities explain that the increase is necessary for “slowing the outflow of personnel, raising salaries, and maintaining and repairing rolling stock”.

Kyivpasstrans named UAH 22.30 as the economically justified fare for ground transport, while Kyiv Metro named UAH 22.

Student pass will cost more than the entire scholarship

If the new public transport fares are approved, the cost of an unlimited student pass will be almost UAH 1,500, which exceeds the amount of the academic scholarship.

According to the draft order of the Kyiv City State Administration, city authorities propose raising the cost of an unlimited student pass to UAH 1,495, while the regular academic scholarship amounts to UAH 1,300.

Reaction

Chairman of the State Regulatory Service Oleksiy Kucher reminded that before deciding to raise fares in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko should have obtained the position of his agency.

Oleksiy Kucher
head of the State Regulatory Service

If the State Regulatory Service concludes that the increase is inexpedient or inadequate, or if the Kyiv City Council has not examined all alternative ways to solve the problem, the decision cannot be adopted.

The service noted that violation of regulatory legislation may become grounds for annulling the decision to raise fares through the courts.

Meanwhile, the Servant of the People party sharply criticized the initiative of the city authorities. Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniyenko said he considers the new transport fares unfair.

Speaking about the adoption of laws concerning the capital, Korniyenko noted that “the legitimately elected mayor will continue to perform his delegated functions, in particular, will qualitatively reform the public transport sector, which, as we understand, requires some major investments”.

Oleksandr Korniyenko
Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada

I understand that Kyiv's treasury has already run out of funds. I also use public transport and have also taken the metro. And I am not sure that almost a euro for a ride on Kyiv public transport is a fair and understandable price for Kyivans. Because a euro is what a ride costs in European capitals, where the vehicles look different. The smell is different there, the incomes are different, and the route network is more developed.

Later, during a session of the Verkhovna Rada, a group of Servant of the People MPs led by Lesya Zaburanna went to the rostrum and condemned the idea of raising fares in Kyiv, stating that they would speak out against it.

Lesya Zaburanna
MP

The news of a two-and-a-half-fold increase in public transport fares in Kyiv truly shocked every Ukrainian, not only Kyivans. Do Kyivans agree to such changes? We all see that absolutely no one cares about Kyiv's infrastructure. Kyiv is stuck in traffic. There is no quality transport service.

The MP also noted that residents of the Troieshchyna and Vynohradar districts, which have no metro, will have to pay UAH 80 to get to work because of the need to transfer.