Will public transport in Mykolaiv be free: the transport company's response

The initiative to make public transport in Mykolaiv free has received support from the management of the KP "Mykolaivpastrans", but with an important condition — only with guaranteed reimbursement of expenses from the city budget. The director of the enterprise, Dmytro Teslenko, reported this in his Facebook post. This is reported by MykVisti.

Conditions for Supporting Free Transport in Mykolaiv

Teslenko stated that he fully supports the idea, but emphasized the need for a "fair approach":

• if a passenger does not pay, the city must compensate the costs;

• funding must be provided on time and in full;

• in the absence of guarantees, service interruptions, debts, and transport wear may occur.

«A free lunch is the most expensive. I am "for" it if there is approved funding and revenue guarantees. I am not interested in populism; I care that transport operates fairly — not at the expense of safety and employees,» emphasized Teslenko.

Reaction of the City Authorities

His post was a response to a proposal by city council member from the "Servant of the People" party, Tetiana Dombrovska, who suggested on October 31 during a session to make transport free for all city residents.

Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych noted that such an initiative is only possible after calculating potential incomes from transportation and determining the compensation amount that the city budget must pay to municipal carriers.

Previous Initiatives

The idea of free transport for Mykolaiv residents is not new. It was discussed back in 2021 regarding electric transport, and in 2018 — as a complete abolition of fare payments. However, the project was not implemented then due to a lack of funding.

For comparison, public transport in Kharkiv has been free since 2022, and the city authorities plan to maintain it even after the war ends.