Chernihiv's progressive experience in reorganising the transport system: webinar results

On October 27th, 2023, a webinar on "Chernihiv's experience in reorganising the passenger transport system in 2022-2023" was successfully held on the platform of the Association "Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine". About 90 representatives from more than 50 cities of Ukraine attended the webinar. The keynote speaker at the webinar was Oleksandr Ryzhyi, Head of the Department of Transport, Transport Infrastructure and Communications at Chernihiv City Council.

"Renovation of public transport should be a strategic goal for Ukraine, for post-war recovery and the country's economy, as well as for the return of forced migrants and IDPs to Ukraine and to the regions affected by the war," said Viktor Zagreba, Chairman of the Board of the NGO Vision Zero, who moderated the webinar. He noted that following a roundtable discussion held earlier this year, the participants concluded that current laws, bylaws, state building codes and standards sometimes do not contribute to the modernisation and development of public transport, but rather hinder it. He called on cities and communities to be proactive and create a demand for quality public transport and relevant legislative changes.

The webinar consisted of two parts. The first part was dedicated to the presentation and discussion of Chernihiv's experience in reorganising its passenger transport system. Oleksandr Ryzhyi spoke about the peculiarities of implementing and operating a new model of public transport in Chernihiv after the de-blockade. "The city has been moving towards this model for about three years. We carefully analysed the legislation, the experience of European cities, and the experience of Ukrainian cities. The transportation contracts were to expire in 2022, and we took advantage of this legal opportunity to introduce a completely new route network and a new system of interaction with carriers," said the head of the Department of Transport, Transport Infrastructure and Communications of the Chernihiv City Council.

In his speech, he also raised several related issues, including the functioning of an electronic ticket, which operates in the city on the basis of a public-private partnership, ensuring reliable and high-quality passenger transportation services, as well as establishing a transparent and effective model of interaction with private carriers that encourages them to invest in rolling stock renewal. "We have set tariffs for buses based on passenger capacity and year of manufacture. In this way, the city encourages carriers to buy new vehicles. We guarantee that they will have a future tomorrow," added Oleksandr Ryzhyi.

The second part of the event focused on the norms and practices of urban and suburban transport in the European Union. Demian Danyliuk, public transport expert at Vision Zero, explained that public transport in Poland is not profitable and operates on the basis of EU Regulation 1370/2007, which provides for the implementation of passenger transport as a Public Service Obligation (PSO). This model involves the ordering of transport services by the state or local authorities, which pay carriers for transport work on public transport routes. "Socially important services do not have to be profitable, although they can be. Schools, hospitals, roads do not bring direct profit, but without them, people's development and the quality of life will significantly deteriorate," said Demian Danyliuk.

In his report, the expert of the NGO "Vision Zero" also analysed the legal norms that Ukraine needs to adopt in order to harmonise its legislation with the European one, which is one of the European integration commitments of our country. He noted that Chernihiv is already on the way to implementing the PSO principle and urged other communities participating in the webinar to adopt the experience of this city and change their approaches to organising public transport.

The webinar recording is available by this link: https://bit.ly/3QzE27s

The webinar was organised within the project "Promotion of Electric Public Transport as an Element of the State Policy of Ukraine", implemented by the NGO Vision Zero and the Association of Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine with the support of the European Climate Foundation.