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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated that the state owes multi-billions for transport for people with privileges and explained why the capital cannot quickly increase the number of buses.
The President of Ukraine ordered the government to prepare a free travel program in Kyiv's ground public transport and form a reserve of buses. In response, Mayor Klitschko said that over the last 11 years the state has not compensated the city more than 8 billion UAH for transporting people in privileged categories. He also noted a driver shortage that prevents adding more buses to routes.
This was announced by Vitali Klitschko in his Telegram channel, commenting on the president's instruction regarding organizing free travel and creating a bus reserve for the capital.
According to the mayor, Kyiv funded privileged passenger transportation from the city budget for 11 years, although the corresponding costs should have been reimbursed by the state. Over this period, according to Klitschko, the amount of uncompensated funds exceeded 8 billion UAH.
The mayor stressed the need to return these funds to the capital in light of the proposal to introduce free travel in ground public transport.
Why Kyiv cannot deploy more buses
One of the main problems of the capital's public transport, Klitschko said, is the shortage of personnel.
According to him, the municipal enterprise Kyivpastrans has the capacity to add 25 technically serviceable buses to routes. However, to operate them, at least 50 drivers with a category D license are required.
Even after hiring, new drivers must undergo training before starting passenger services.
Klitschko also spoke of difficulties with recruiting workers. He said that due to imposed restrictions the enterprise cannot recruit the necessary number of new drivers.
Thus, the problem of increasing the bus fleet lies not only in having the vehicles but also in being able to provide them with drivers.
On the capital's routes, 418 buses and 680 minibuses are operating.
Because of the halt in electric transport in Kyiv, the number of bus routes was increased to 129.
According to the mayor, there are currently 418 buses of the municipal enterprise Kyivpastrans operating on them. They are served by 685 drivers.
Parallely in the capital, another 114 routes are functioning, serviced by private carriers. On these directions 680 minibuses operate.
Despite involving municipal and private transport, the capacity of bus transport remains limited compared with the metro.
Klitschko explained that to transport the same number of passengers served by the metro, the capital would need up to 1020 buses.
At the same time, even that number of vehicles would not ensure similar intervals. Unlike metro trains, buses travel on general roads, where their speed depends on traffic and jams.
Free transport in Kharkiv: what experts say.
Against the backdrop of the discussion about free travel in Kyiv, political scientist and PhD candidate Oleksiy Yakubin drew attention to Kharkiv's experience.
During the live broadcast of the program Vechir.LIVE, the expert emphasized that in Kharkiv, which is located much closer to the Russian border and has a smaller city budget, public transport remains free for passengers.
Yakubin also compared the situation with municipal problems in the two cities, noting that Kharkiv, in his view, handles them better. His comment was published by the outlet News.LIVE.
At the same time, the mere fact of free travel in Kharkiv does not mean that a similar model can be introduced in Kyiv without additional funding. The capital must consider passenger numbers, the need for rolling stock, and maintenance costs.
For now, it is about the instruction to prepare the corresponding program. No specific timing for introducing free travel in Kyiv or the financing mechanism is specified in the cited messages.
Recall that in Kyiv, from 9 November, traffic rules on three bridges were changed: trucks from the left bank are redirected to the Darnytskyi direction, the traffic on the Northern bridge was partially restored, and a reversible traffic on the Paton Bridge was introduced.
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