The Verkhovna Rada on 10 November passed in second reading and as a whole the draft law No. 5651-2, which provides for reform of concessional travel in public transport. Instead of the current compensation system, an automated system for recording trips and a mechanism of targeted financing through special bank accounts will be introduced. At the same time, some practical issues, in particular regarding financing of carriers' equipment and use of already issued transport cards, still need to be settled.<\/b><\/p>
235 People's Deputies voted for the relevant decision. The adoption of the document was reported by the parliamentary Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights.<\/p>
The main goal of the reform is to ensure registration of each discounted trip and transition from provisional compensation to carriers to calculations based on actual services rendered.<\/p>
As explained in the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, current rights to discounted travel are not being abolished. The mechanism of their realization, accounting and financing is changing.<\/p>
How the new discounted travel system will work<\/h2>
The law provides for the creation of a Unified Automated System for Accounting of Fare Payment (UASOOP). It will unite the central system and territorial systems, which will be used to register trips in cities and communities.<\/p>
It is envisaged that local automated systems will exchange information with the nationwide system. Technical requirements for such systems and their components must ensure compatibility of equipment for registering e-tickets.<\/p>
To receive the concession, the use of a special bank account and a connected electronic payment instrument is provided for. Funds for travel will be transferred to such an account, and payment for the trip will be recorded by the automated system.<\/p>
The Ministry explains that after the implementation of the reform, the holder of the concession will not need to confirm their right in front of the driver each time: instead, a payment tool will be used, which will allow registering the trip and correspondingly calculating.<\/p>
At the same time, the law does not establish mandatory replacement of every existing bank card with a new physical card. Terms of opening special accounts, issuing payment instruments and list of allowed operations must be detailed by the Cabinet of Ministers.<\/p>
Who will pay for concessionary transportation<\/h2>
The adopted model provides for distribution of financing between state and local budgets.<\/p>
Concessions for persons covered by the legislation on the status of war veterans are planned to be financed from the state budget. Costs of discounted travel of other categories of citizens will mainly be borne by budgets of territorial communities. For certain official categories, funding will be provided by relevant state bodies.<\/p>
However, for full implementation of this mechanism, changes to the Budget Code of Ukraine are still needed. The government should prepare a corresponding draft law within nine months after the official publication of the new law.<\/p>
According to the Ministry's explanation, communities will determine the amounts of funding for most categories of beneficiaries in accordance with their financial capabilities, and for veterans the corresponding parameters will be set at the state level.<\/p>
What issues remain unresolved<\/h2>
Despite the adoption of general rules of the reform, concrete mechanisms of its implementation still need to be determined in subordinate acts.<\/p>
First of all, the issue of insufficient funding for discounted trips remains open. The new model provides for determining the volume of guarantees and periodic replenishment of special accounts, but currently no unambiguous order of actions is established if allocated funds run out before the next replenishment.<\/p>
In particular, it is not specified whether automatic additional funding will be provided and how free travel will be ensured if there is no needed balance on special account.<\/p>
Another issue concerns already implemented municipal fare payment systems. The law provides for their integration with the nationwide system, but does not determine specific conditions for preserving previously issued transport cards.<\/p>
Also there is still no universal answer who will pay for replacement or modernization of validators if existing carriers' equipment will not correspond to new technical requirements.<\/p>
Practical application of new model on routes of private carriers will also need special settlement, especially where now payment is accepted only in cash. Regulations regarding automate registration apply to transport regardless of the form of ownership of the carrier, but specific financial and technical conditions for implementation system must be detailed.<\/p>
Another question - settlements for discon? trip journeys between different communities and regions. The law provides for the use of territorial accounting systems on suburban and intercity routes, but practical rules for funding trips of residents of other communities still need to be clarified.<\/p>
It should be noted that the mentioned issues do not mean automatic cancellation of current transport concessions. They relate to the mechanism of their actual provision after the transition to the new system.<\/p>
When the new rules will come into force<\/h2>
Main provisions of the reform should come into force on 1 July 2028. For certain norms regarding organization of accounting systems, earlier terms are provided, in particular from 1 January 2028.<\/p>
The transition period is needed to develop subordinate acts, create the nationwide system, integrate territorial systems, prepare equipment and organize work with the beneficiaries.<\/p>
Ministry earlier estimated initial costs for development and launch of UASOOP at least 60 million UAH over two years. Depending on required functionality, the final sum may be higher.<\/p>
As of 10 November, the draft law is adopted by parliament and is prepared for signing. Thus, new rules are not yet in force, and concrete procedures for using discounted travel will be determined during the preparation of the reform.<\/p>
According to: Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy<\/a>, Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine<\/a>, explanations of the Ministry<\/a><\/p>
