The authorities are interested in raising the price of Kyiv bus fares

The authorities are interested in raising the price of Kyiv bus fares to 7-9 hryvnias.

This was stated by transport expert Viktor Medved in a comment to GolosUA.

"In our country, family contracting exists in all industries as part of a corrupt system. Everything is structured in such a way that a new head of the transport department comes in and the market is built around his connections and relationships. In fact, there are no competitive conditions in the transportation market in the capital, as in other cities. Most of the time, the results of the tender are falsified and lobbying for their companies or direct participation by registering vehicles for relatives. For example, the ex-governor of Kirovograd region owns a lot of transport companies that work for him. If you look deeply, the increase in value is linked to the government. Accordingly, the question arises whether the authorities are interested in the objective and low profitability of these transportation services. Of course not, because it is a blow to their pockets. Accordingly, the authorities are interested in raising the price of transportation in Kyiv minibuses," Medved said.

According to the expert, the fare for Kyiv buses will remain 7-9 hryvnias from the beginning of 2018.

"For some transport, the fare will vary from 7 to 9 hryvnias from the beginning of 2018. The fare will increase for one reason due to higher prices for spare parts and fuel. The second is the continuation of the corruption burden and the development of corruption pressure to maximize profits," Medved emphasized.

According to him, if we remove the corruption component, the real cost of public transportation is between 5 and 7 hryvnias.

"The issue is that this price was formed a long time ago, a year ago. Accordingly, no one will underestimate or leave the fare the same. Raising the price to UAH 9 is a direct overstatement of the fare. If this sector were unprofitable, we would have a massive reduction in the number of carriers. This is not happening at the moment. That is why the passenger transportation industry is not unprofitable; under current conditions, it generates 30% in annual net profit," Medved summarized.

As a reminder, Yuriy Artemenko, the head of the Association of Kyiv Carriers, said that bus fares in the capital would rise from 5-6 UAH to 8-9 UAH. The cost of suburban minibuses will also rise: from UAH 12-16 to UAH 20.

The publication notes that the price of a liter of A-95 gasoline has increased by 12% since the beginning of the fall, reaching UAH 28 per liter. The cost of diesel fuel increased by 14.7% to UAH 26.

"This is the largest increase in prices shown on gas station billboards this year," the article says.