One of the most pressing issues in the bus sector today is the transportation of privileged categories of citizens. Therefore, it is extremely important to discuss the adoption of draft law No. 5651-2 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding Travel Discounts and Certain Other Privileges” by the parliament. This was announced by the director of the MAPA, Alona Veklich, during the forum “Connecting People and Cities: Bus Transport Forum,” organized by the Ministry of Development. 

"Firstly, there is social tension, because every day there are conflicts at bus stations regarding the transportation of passengers from privileged categories. Secondly, it is the failure to implement the rights of beneficiaries, because the state has granted the right to preferential travel but has not regulated the mechanism for ensuring this right", — added Alona Veklich.

In addition, after the bill is passed, carriers will have the opportunity to obtain “critical” status and reserve their employees.

"Currently, carriers operating within the country cannot meet the conditions stipulated by law to obtain critical status. They cannot pay the salaries stipulated by law due to the lack of a mechanism for compensating for the transportation of privileged passengers. For example, a carrier participating in MAPA could meet the conditions of the law if it were compensated UAH 5 million. This is the amount that was spent on transporting passengers with special privileges during the year", — the spokesperson noted.

In addition, the director of MAPA reminded that the key point in the bus market reform is the list of bus stations. The return of bus stations to the legal field has enabled their owners to invest in and modernize bus terminals.

“Of course, the reform needs to be refined, because not all bus station owners are honest. But the creation of the List, in my opinion, is one of the most important achievements of the Ministry of Development in the context of market reform”, — concluded Alona Veklich.