Whether or not to stop public transport in Kyiv during air raid alerts: why there are no stop-shelters and what deputies propose

Whether or not to stop public transport in Kyiv during air raid alerts: why there are no stop-shelters and what deputies propose

Kyiv  •  UNN

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The KCSA stated that there is no certified facility for installation at public transport stops. Deputies, on the other hand, propose to adopt the experience of Kharkiv and other cities regarding the operation of transport.

Today, there is no certified structure that can be installed at a public transport stop in Kyiv. This was stated by the Director of the Department of Transport Infrastructure of the KCSA Ruslan Kandybor during a round table on the topic: "Ensuring the reliable operation of public transport during air raids in Kyiv", reports UNN.

Kyiv City Council deputy, head of the Servant of the People faction Andriy Vitrenko highlighted the negative consequences for the city due to the suspension of public transport during alarms, emphasizing that this creates a transport collapse on the roads.

According to analytical reports of public organizations dealing with the transport sector of Kyiv, approximately from 80 to 100 thousand people are simultaneously in the city and use public transport during the announcement of an air raid

- said Vitrenko.

He was interested in whether the Director of the Department of Transport Infrastructure, Ruslan Kandybor, had studied the experience of Kharkiv, where public transport does not stop during an air raid.

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"Have you conducted modeling on how transport moves from the right to the left, and from the left to the right after an air raid?" - Vitrenko inquired.

However, there was no answer. After that, Vitrenko provided several proposals.

"The first is the equipment of stops and the creation of shelters on key routes. The second is the use of modern transport modeling programs and a review of the rules for stopping transport. Instead of a complete paralysis, implement mechanisms that will allow the restoration of traffic quickly. The third proposal is to study the experience of cities, in particular, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia. Let's adopt the experience of other cities that do not stop transport", - Vitrenko suggested.

He also noted that the Kyiv city transport is currently unprofitable.

"I have figures on compensations in the latest decision on the city budget. Compensation is provided, for example, for the services of the metro - 4.2 billion UAH, for the services of Kyivpastrans - 2.5 billion UAH and this is not the end. Because, I understand that in the middle of the year, when the budget is redistributed, these expenses will be even more. The metro costs us 11-12 billion UAH per year. If we have such expenses for this public transport, maybe we should make it completely free of charge during martial law. The city pays anyway, and according to the financial statements, including Kyivpastrans and the metro, the cost they receive is not significant - 2 billion UAH. It seems to me that the gross income received in 2023 by the Kyiv Metro KE can be compensated from the 14 billion UAH unused funds from the previous year", - Vitrenko said.

Vitrenko also asked Kandybor how many times he had appealed to the Kyiv City Council, in particular to the Budget Commission, with a proposal to equip safe stops in Kyiv. To which Kandybor replied that there is currently no certified structure that could be installed at a stop.

"As the Director of the Department of Transport Infrastructure, I want to inform you, as the head of the Budget Commission, that in your five years of work in the City Council, you should have realized that civil defense belongs to the Department of Civil Defense. Today there is no certified structure that can be installed at a stop. If it is proven and there is a possibility to install such a structure, we will petition for the allocation of funds and the implementation of such work", - Kandybor said.

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The first deputy head of the KCSA, Mykola Povoroznik, expressed his opinion on the suspension of public transport during an air raid, mentioning God in the process.

"I believe that thanks to the decisions made, but, first of all, probably thanks to God, during the period of active hostilities, passengers of public transport did not suffer. If someone wants to say that this is because it is stopped, it is probably right, if someone wants to say that they just did not hit, it is also probably right", - said the first Povoroznik.

He also expressed the opinion that public transport in Kyiv should be stopped during air raids.

"I believe that it should be stopped in principle. My position is that people should be in a shelter during an air raid alert. Including the driver", - Povoroznik noted.

Addition

Meanwhile, for example, in Kharkiv, as early as 2022, they installed the first shelter at a public transport stop.

There are also mobile shelters, in particular, in the Zaporizhzhia region, Dnipro.

Recently, the head of the KCMA, Tymur Tkachenko, stated that in the near future the capital plans to resolve the issue of the operation of public transport during alarms.