The Lviv City Council reported how consultations with the public regarding new fares for buses, trams and trolleybuses ended.
Yesterday, December 4, a draft decision of the executive committee was presented in Lviv on establishing uniform fares for city buses, trams and trolleybuses. Oleh Zabarilo, head of the department of urban mobility and street infrastructure of the LMR, spoke as the speaker. The discussion was attended by public activists, journalists, representatives of motor transport enterprises, and the deputies’ corps.
After consultations with the public, the proposed tariffs must be approved by the executive committee of the city council. They should come into effect on December 11, when cashless fares are introduced in all public transport in Lviv.
“Participants were active, quite a lot of objective, relevant questions were asked. Actually, some comments were also voiced. We will try to react to them as much as possible and finalize those things that are subject to finalization by December 11. We plan to submit a decision on the approval of tariffs to the executive committee this week,” said Oleg Zabarilo, director of the department of urban mobility and street infrastructure of the LMR.
We would like to remind you that according to the draft decision, fares should be the same for all types of transport – buses, trams and trolleybuses. And the fare will depend on the payment method. The most attractive will be payment with a LeoKart card, and the least profitable – payment in cash. The tariffs are proposed to be approved at the following level: UAH 13 – when paying with a LeoKart transport card, UAH 15 – when paying with a bank card or NFC device, UAH 20 – when paying in cash with the driver, and UAH 6.5 – for students when paying with a LeoKart student transport card .
Therefore, according to Oleg Zabaril, the cost of the trip will even decrease to UAH 13 for passengers of buses that will be paid by LeoKart. For those who will pay with a bank card or a device with NFC, the tariff will remain at the level of UAH 15. At the same time, in order to minimize the circulation of cash, the driver’s payment will be the least attractive and will amount to UAH 20 for one trip. It is important that for the first time, students will have a 50% discount on bus travel if they have a discount student LeoKart. For electric transport passengers, the fare will increase slightly, however, it should be noted that the tariffs for electric transport were last revised in 2021. “During this time, the cost of electricity for the enterprise has increased more than 2 times. Materials for the maintenance of rolling stock, track and network have also become more expensive by the same amount,” noted Oleg Zabarilo, head of the Department of Urban Mobility and Street Infrastructure of the LMR.
The official emphasized that until a separate decision of the executive committee is made, from December 11, trams and trolleybuses will continue to be able to pay for travel using a smartphone via Privat24 and EasyPay QR codes, however, at the new tariff. Monthly travel cards valid for the date of travel will also be valid. Today, the cost of travel cards remains unchanged, and from December 11 their cost will change.
“During the transition period, we will keep the existing services in electric transport valid – using Privat24 and EasyPay. We also temporarily leave travel cards in order to minimize discomfort for passengers from the transition to a new payment system. However, from December 11, all these fare payment services will be based on the new tariffs. Also this week, the decision of the executive committee will establish the new cost of monthly travel cards in electric transport,” Oleg Zabarilo explained.
The official added that the proposed fares for travel in all modes of transport in Lviv today are lower than economically justified.
As a reminder, cashless fare payment will be available on all city routes from December 11 in Lviv. It will be possible to pay cashless for travel with a bank card or a device with NFC and a LeoKart transport card. There is also the option of paying in cash with the driver – but this option will be the most expensive for the passenger.
From the date of introduction of cashless fare payment in all public transport, the right to discounted fare will be granted only on the condition of having a personalized LeoKart transport card. Various certificates that currently grant the right to discounted travel will no longer be valid in public transport in Lviv from December 11. At the same time, the controllers will start monitoring the fare payment and fine passengers for ticketless/unvalidated fares.
Therefore, passengers who pay in cash are reminded of the need to receive and keep a paper ticket throughout the trip, and LeoKart owners are reminded of the need to validate their travel. Important: controllers will not check the presence of a transport card, but rather the fact of validation.
Residents who have the right to discounted travel in city transport and have not yet issued a personalized LeoKart transport card are encouraged to submit documents for its production, having previously made an appointment at phone number 0800-303-007.