Prolonged emergency power outages may again limit the operation of urban transport in Ukraine. In the event of damage to power networks after shelling, the largest cities risk being left without metro, trams, and trolleybuses, which will force the authorities to implement emergency scenarios, including regulating passenger flow. This is reported by Telegraf.
After the introduction of emergency outages on January 31, metro services had already been suspended in Kyiv and Kharkiv. According to experts, a complete or partial suspension of electric transport will be a serious challenge primarily for megacities. Under such conditions, buses remain virtually the only alternative, although they are more expensive to operate and less efficient with a large passenger flow.
Trolleybuses during blackouts as the most resilient transport
Electric transport plays a key role in transportation in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, and other cities. According to the State Statistics Service, nearly 787 million passengers used it from January to August, while road transport served 612 million. Meanwhile, metros, trams, and trolleybuses remain vulnerable to power outages.
Former Minister of Transport Vasyl Shevchenko and engineer and transport expert Dmytro Bespalov note that trolleybuses have an advantage due to their autonomous driving capability. New models are equipped with batteries that enable them to complete their routes even without the contact network. This makes them the most resilient type of electric transport in emergencies.
Buses instead of electric transport and the risk of transport collapse
According to experts, buses can temporarily cover the need for transportation even in the event of metro suspension. Kyiv has already experienced such a scenario at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. However, without traffic lights and stable movement, the city may quickly face traffic jams.
As a positive example, Lviv is cited, where scenarios for replacing trams with buses were tested and backup power for traffic lights was verified. In Kyiv, according to the Transport Infrastructure Department of the Kyiv City State Administration, out of 751 traffic lights, 502 are already equipped with backup power cabinets.
Experts also do not rule out the return of special permits for public transport, as was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic, in case of a critical shortage of transport services. Such a mechanism may be applied for priority access for critical infrastructure workers. At the same time, specialists consider this scenario extreme and advise preparing alternatives in advance, including shifting work schedules and coordinating with large employers.
It is noteworthy that Kyiv has received the third batch of new buses of the Anadolu Isuzu model, aimed at improving transport services in the capital.