Archive: September 2023

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the city of Mykolaiv has received seven new Ukrainian-made trolleybuses with loan funds in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The rolling stock is delivered as part of the contract concluded in 2021, according to which the winner of the tender must hand over to the city 40 Dnipro T-203 trolleybuses manufactured by the Pivdenmash concern . The city received 30 units from this order by February 2022.

"After the start of active hostilities and in connection with the fact that the occupying forces were closely approaching the city, the EBRD suspended the financing of the project and the execution of deliveries was suspended. However, after numerous negotiations between the mayor of the city and representatives of the bank and after the Armed Forces pushed back the occupiers from the city and stopped shelling it with barrel artillery, the financing of the project was restored. Yuriy Smetana, the head of Mykolaivelectrotrans KP, said in a comment for the non-governmental organization "Vision Zero " .

The new trolleybuses are completely low-floor, equipped with modern electronics and air conditioners, which is very important in the hot Mykolaiv climate. " For such a southern city as Mykolaiv, on hot summer days it helped a lot and the townspeople really used trolleybuses more willingly," comments Yuriy Smetana . He has reason to claim this, as the city has accurate data on transported passengers : "We have an electronic passenger flow counting system installed in each trolleybus, so we can see how many passengers we transport every day in trolleybuses," said the head of the company.

Currently, Mykolaiv is preparing technical documentation for the next tender for the purchase of hybrid trolleybuses with an additional battery, which will be able to provide connections with remote city areas. In the technical requirements, "Mykolaivelectrotrans" notes a range of at least 20 kilometers and the availability of a 380-volt connection for the possibility of charging not only from the contact network, but also at the depot or at the final stops.

According to the head of KP "Mykolaivelectrotrans", Mykolaiv City Council and Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich have been emphasizing for many years that public transport, especially electric, should be the main carrier in the city. That is why the city concluded an agreement with the EBRD to obtain a loan for the modernization and renewal of the trolley bus fleet in the city of Mykolaiv.

Information from the NGO "Vision Zero": In 2023, an average of 30 trolleybuses will go on Mykolaiv routes every day. About 90% of them are modern models with a low floor. During the shelling of the city in 2022, 31 trolleybuses were damaged, including 18 new Dnipro trolleybuses. All new trolleybuses have been restored and are now operating on the routes.

In 2019, Mykolaiv was the first city in Ukraine to develop and approve a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. The development of electric public transport is enshrined in the Plan as a key priority of the city in the field of urban mobility.

Photo source: Mykolayiv City Council Facebook page.

"European Mobility Week" has started in Europe. As already reported by the "Association of Energy-Efficient Cities of Ukraine" website , this year six cities of Ukraine declared their intention to join this pan-European campaign. Cities hold "Bike to work" promotions, presentations, discussions, excursions and other events dedicated to sustainable urban mobility. The purpose of the activities is to promote sustainable means of transportation, such as cycling, walking and public transport. Some of the events already took place last weekend, and some are yet to come. We have collected information about the most interesting of them:

• The action "Bike to work" will take place in Chernivtsi, Poltava, Lviv in the morning of September 19. The organizers invite citizens to meet in the morning in the central part of each city, drink coffee and each go to work by bicycle;
• a workshop on "Tactical urbanism and urban artistic interventions" will be held in Zhytomyr on September 20;
• In Chernivtsi, the "Day without a car", the excursion "Transport past of Chernivtsi" and the presentation of the reconstruction project of the street are interesting. Zankovetska;
• Lviv has prepared a serious program, which will include a tram-themed walking tour, a trolley tour and "Sich Riflemen Street Day".

Posters of events from four cities dedicated to Mobility Week can be found below. Events planned in Lviv for the current week: Two more events are planned in Zhytomyr , and one has already taken place. If you live in one of these cities, join the proposed events, support the development of sustainable mobility in Ukraine!

This video was prepared jointly by the NGO "Vision Zero" and video blogger Oleksandr Shutyuk and is dedicated to trams and trolleybuses.

Representatives of the expert environment and municipalities explain the reasons why these most climate-friendly transport systems are in a rather sad state in Ukraine, and suggest strategic steps that will pave the way for their modernization.

Representatives of the expert environment and municipalities explain the reasons why these most climate-friendly transport systems are in a rather sad state in Ukraine, and suggest strategic steps that will pave the way for their modernization.

The recording of the interview took place in Lviv in April 2023 on the sidelines of the "Lviv Urban Mobility Forum"

From September 16 to 22, 2023 , the annual European Mobility Week (EMW) will be held, the task of which is to stimulate and promote sustainable mobility, the development of public transport, and the use of renewable energy sources.

Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Poltava, Uzhhorod and Zhytomyr will hold events for the European Mobility Week. The overarching theme of ETM in 2023 is “ Economy energy! ". The official website of the event informs how energy is directly related to mobility:

1. Public transport has a huge potential to reduce energy consumption. The amount of energy used to transport one passenger by public transport for 1 km is significantly less compared to the energy used for the same distance by a private car;
2. You can move around the city for a distance of up to 5 km on foot or by bicycle. It will take up to 30 minutes and will allow you to save energy, as well as improve physical and mental health;
3. The annual cost of owning a private car is often underestimated. Expenses only on energy carriers for the maintenance of a private car are up to 4,500 euros per year;
4. Reducing the speed of transport in cities by 10 km/h can reduce fuel costs by 60 euros per year.
5. Mobility management has the potential to reduce collective energy consumption by encouraging changes in the behavior of workers, students, customers, visitors;
6. Mobility infrastructure is not just about existing roads and traffic maintenance. Improving the existing and creating new infrastructure that would encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation: walking, cycling, and public transport is crucial to eliminating incentives to use private cars.

In total, the European Mobility Week events will take place in more than 1,700 cities and towns in 39 European countries , among which the largest number are in Spain (308), Turkey (251) and Austria (209). Some cities from outside Europe will also join the ETM: in Argentina, Ecuador and Japan.

Ukraine will be represented by six cities — Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Poltava, Uzhhorod and Zhytomyr. If you live in one of these cities, join the proposed events and support the development of sustainable mobility in Ukraine!

The European Mobility Week has traditionally been held since 2002. ETM international website: https://mobilityweek.eu/home/

The original ETM information brochures can be found at this link: https://mobilityweek.eu/campaign-resources/

During May-August 2023, the cities of Ukraine announced purchases of more than 160 units of rolling stock of electric transport. NGO Vision Zero monitored the open information of tender sites regarding the procurement of electric transport rolling stock for May-August 2023. Photo: Oleksandr Shutyuk A total of 10 announced purchases for 166 units of rolling stock and a total amount of about UAH 4.6 billion have been recorded, the Association "Energy-Efficient Cities of Ukraine" informs . Four procurements have already been completed, one has not taken place, and five are still ongoing. Out of 10 tenders, 6 take place within the framework of credit projects with international financial organizations EIB and EBRD. Purchases were announced by 8 cities: Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Zaporizhzhia, Chernivtsi, Lviv, Kharkiv and Vinnytsia. Most cities buy new trolleybuses. Several purchases concern used rolling stock of trolleybuses, as well as new trams and battery buses. The largest purchase is the announcement of the city of Chernivtsi for the purchase of 50 trolleybuses with credit funds from the European Investment Bank. "The active activity of cities to renew rolling stock is a positive phenomenon, even in wartime conditions. First, most of these are external financial resources that come to Ukraine. In a large part of the tenders, Ukrainian manufacturers win, this allows us to support the economy, maintain the efficiency of machine-building enterprises, save personnel, and pay taxes and fees. Secondly, the rolling stock in many cities is really in a deplorable state, and does not meet the requirements of accessibility - it does not have a low floor, which is extremely important. Thirdly, the modern rolling stock has higher energy efficiency indicators than the outdated and emergency trams and trolleybuses that it will replace. This will mean savings for local budgets and a reduction in energy consumption from the single energy grid, and of course, a positive impact on air quality and public health - especially when new transport replaces old diesel buses. All these issues have become even more important in the conditions of war," comments Victor Zagreba, chairman of the board of the non-governmental organization "Vision Zero", on the results of the monitoring. According to the NGO "Vision Zero", Ukraine already belongs to the European countries with the largest number of electric public transport systems. As of 2021, 41 trolleybus and 18 tram systems were operating in the cities of Ukraine. You can read more about the list of purchases of electric public transport by cities of Ukraine below . Please note that this list may not be exhaustive and some purchases were not included in our monitoring. Tenders of Ukrainian cities for the purchase of electric public transport in May-August 2023 :