Verkhovna Rada may lift ban on humanitarian buses, trolleybuses and trams
photo: KT_Alex, alltransua portal: used Mercedes-Benz O 530 K Citaro K buses transferred from Austria to the Irpinska AH
Verkhovna Rada has registered Draft Law No. 12177-1 ‘On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Meeting the Needs of the Population for Transportation under Martial Law’. The document was developed by the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine.
The new law will primarily allow the use of vehicles already received from benefactors on routes. Serhiy Derkach, Deputy Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, commented on the document. According to him, ‘there are still no legal mechanisms for using this transport on the ground. After all, humanitarian aid cannot be used for commercial purposes. This is exactly how utility companies operate.’
Between 2022 and 2024, a number of European cities donated hundreds of used large buses and various types of electric vehicles to Ukraine. This assistance was intended to support passenger transport in Ukrainian communities.
However, Ukrainian legislation was not prepared for the operation of humanitarian transport. According to Article 12 of the Law No. 1192-XIV ‘On Humanitarian Aid’ of 22.10.1999, the use of humanitarian aid for profit is prohibited, and violation of this prohibition may result in criminal or administrative liability. As a result, buses and other vehicles were used only for social transport or were idle.
‘The communities of Ukraine hope that MPs will promptly and positively consider the draft law and adopt it. This absurd legal conflict should be eliminated. Public transport services are socially important, as most households in Ukraine do not own a car,’ commented Viktor Zagreba, Chairman of the Board of the NGO Vision Zero. He expressed hope that, in addition to this draft law, the Verkhovna Rada will resume work on European integration laws on public transport, especially on the implementation of the European Commission Regulation 1370/2007 on public services of passenger transport by rail and road (PSO). This topic was the subject of the organisation's analytical research.
The removal of the legal ban on the use of ‘humanitarian transport’ on routes was one of the recommendations for changes to public policy developed by Vision Zero based on an analysis of information from cities and published in February 2024. In particular, Recommendation 3.1. provided for: ‘Amend the regulations to allow the use of rolling stock received as humanitarian aid on routes with revenue generation (fares).