The Executive Committee of Lviv City Council approved a package of temporary measures at its meeting on 10 March 2026, aimed at stabilising public transport operations without raising fares for passengers.
The move was prompted by a sharp rise in fuel prices — approximately 40% compared with the time of the last fare review. Carriers had approached the city with requests to revise ticket prices, but the city council opted instead to introduce temporary compensatory mechanisms.
Specifically, the Executive Committee approved the following decisions:
- Suspension of free transfers on public transport for one month — from 11 March to 11 April 2026. This will provide carriers with an additional approximately 10 million hryvnias for fuel procurement.
- Regulation of concessionary travel for residents of other communities: by 16 March, amalgamated territorial communities must conclude agreements with Lviv MTH on compensation for concessionary journeys made by their residents. In the absence of such an agreement, the concessionary cards of those individuals will be deactivated. The monthly saving for the city budget is estimated at around 12 million hryvnias.
- Temporary suspension of LeoCard issuance for two new categories of concessionary passengers — pensioners receiving benefits due to the loss of a breadwinner, and military pensioners with long service — also for the period from 11 March to 11 April 2026.
The restrictions will not apply to war veterans, persons with disabilities sustained as a result of war, family members of those killed in action, or children from other communities attending Lviv schools — these categories will continue to use public transport free of charge.
According to Oleh Zabaryl, Director of the Department of Urban Mobility and Street Infrastructure of Lviv City Council, the measures combined will generate over 20 million hryvnias per month to ensure uninterrupted transport operations. First Deputy Mayor Andriy Moskalenko stressed that a fare increase is not currently under consideration, as it would represent a significant blow to all city residents; by contrast, the suspension of free transfers affects only around 5% of users, and transfers remain available under a season ticket.
“In times of crisis, unpopular decisions are difficult to make, but the city is compelled to seek a balance in the budget. Raising fares is a very difficult step that we are not prepared to take today, because it would genuinely be a heavy blow for all residents of Lviv” — Andriy Moskalenko, First Deputy Mayor.
Around 450,000 passengers use Lviv’s public transport every day, of whom nearly 200,000 travel on concessionary terms — meaning approximately 40% of all journeys are concessionary and funded entirely from the city budget. At present, only the Murovanska community has confirmed its readiness to compensate travel costs for its residents.