We need to determine which categories of passengers are eligible for travel compensation, which authority compensates for the travel of beneficiaries, and what compensation mechanism is used, — Galina Tretyakova

If the industry puts pressure on, this will significantly speed up the consideration of draft law No. 5651-2 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Travel Discounts and Certain Other Benefits.” This was announced by Galina Tretyakova, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights, during the All-Ukrainian Transport Forum 2025: “The Bus Passenger Transport Industry - A Look into the Future.”

She stressed that the issue of subsidized travel for citizens is currently acute. One of the reasons for the urgency is that the current legislation does not specify who exactly should pay for subsidized travel. 

“On the one hand, the legislation contains a provision that the state grants the right to subsidized travel free of charge. On the other hand, there is no clear definition of who exactly the ‘state’ is: local government, central executive authority, the state budget, or the social insurance system. The law does not specify this,” said Galina Tretyakova.

With the help of the new law, Ukraine will change the model of financing free travel, because “we understand that nothing is free in the state.”

“Our task is to clearly define which categories of passengers are compensated for travel, which authority compensates for the travel of beneficiaries, and what the compensation mechanism is,” said the chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights.

She reminded that the state budget for 2026 was adopted in the first reading, and the budget program does not include the repayment of preferential travel at the expense of budget funds. This means that there will be no compensation for preferential travel at the expense of state funds. In order for this program to appear in the state budget, 5651-2 must be adopted in the second reading and as a whole. 

“My proposal, which has been agreed upon by the Office of the President, is for the state budget to cover the cost of transporting UBDs. Other preferential categories will be covered by local budgets,” said Tretyakova.

What is proposed in the bill:

1. The bill should spell out the technological chain of how passengers in the privileged category are verified. At the same time, every transport operator should have instructions on what to do if a privileged passenger enters the transport without a card from a bank authorized by law. Spoiler alert — they should be charged for the fare. 
2. All passengers with privileges must first obtain a special card, which will be used exclusively to pay for travel. For UBD, this will be paid for by the state budget, and for other categories, by the local government.
3. A validator must be installed in the vehicle, where the card can be placed to pay for travel.