Free public transport in Mykolaiv: What pleased the residents

In Mykolaiv, they may make public transport free of charge. The idea is already being discussed at the level of the city and regional authorities. This was reported by the head of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration Vitaliy Kim after a meeting with Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych. The publication informed about it.

How much will free transport cost the city

According to Kim, maintaining the city's electric transport currently costs the budget about 340 million UAH. To fully transition to free travel, about 50 million UAH more is needed.

«We calculated with the mayor - it is subsidized. Now electric transport costs somewhere around 340 million hryvnias, and to make it free, we need to add another 50. It's not much, but it's not all straightforward», - explained the head of the region.

He also emphasized that the implementation of the idea requires optimizing expenses and considering social consequences. In particular, part of the staff will have to be reduced:

«Conductors will have to be laid off. Of course, we don't want to do this, but there are many social issues that can't be resolved solely through savings».

The main expenses for transport operation:

• salaries of staff and maintenance of rolling stock;

• electricity and technical maintenance of infrastructure;

• compensations for preferential transport;

• upgrading trams and trolleybuses.

Previous attempts and prospects

The idea of free travel for Mykolaiv residents is not new. Back in 2021, the head of the budget commission of the city council, Fedor Panchenko, proposed to abolish payment for communal electric transport, as ticket sales covered only 10% of the costs.

They returned to the topic in the fall of 2025 - on October 31, city council member Tatyana Dombrovska reiterated the initiative to introduce free travel for all residents. A final decision has yet to be made, but the local authorities are considering various funding options to make movement around the city accessible for everyone.