Category: Blog 2023 year

On June 22, experts from the NGO "Vision Zero" came to the city of Nadvirna, Ivano-Frankivsk region. The purpose of this familiarization visit was to gather up-to-date information on the operation of public transport and the nuances of its operation.

In the premises of the city council, we talked with local representatives of local self-government bodies. Among others, with Ihor Pysklynets, the deputy mayor for financial, economic and social development, Iryna Babii, the leading specialist of the department of trade, transport and agricultural industry, and Taras Novoselskyi, the head of the economy department.

Iryna Babii said that there are 6 city bus routes in Nadvirnaya. All of them are served by private carriers with small-class buses. Complaints about their work from passengers are rare. Mostly this is in the case of a fare increase and some kind of rudeness on the part of the driver. The fare on city "routes" is UAH 10, and for students it is UAH 8. Travel is free for privileged categories (and schoolchildren), but carriers do not receive compensation from the city budget. Therefore, there is an "unspoken" rule of two preferential seats in one bus.

The city leaders have a desire to create a municipal carrier for their own control and organization of transportation. However, since the beginning of a full-scale war, the city budget cannot allow this. They say that this will be possible only thanks to grant support from international donors.

As for suburban and district transportation between villages of the Nadvirnya Territorial Community, the situation is much worse . In fact, each route has its own carrier with one or two buses. The tariff varies depending on the mileage. Travel allowances do not apply there.

The main problem of these transports is the condition of the road surface both in the villages and between them. There are several villages where the leaders of the territorial community are asking the existing carrier to make at least a small number of flights.

Also, in Nadvirnaya there is a problem with the organization of the parking system in the city. As of now, it is very chaotic , said Taras Novoselskyi. Cashless payment for parking is not possible because there was no parking operator who would install an expensive parking meter. And the drivers of "routes" in the middle of the city have set up a permanent "bus station" that interferes with the movement of other vehicles. The city administration cannot finally overcome this. There are several problematic intersections in the city that need professional research and solutions.

Specialists of the NGO "Vision Zero" managed to investigate them in person, as well as some other parts of the streets, where the latest infrastructure solutions can be implemented.

In conclusion, Ihor Pysklynets said that the city leaders want to implement the transformation of one of the streets in the central part of the city into a pedestrian one. However, there are obstacles with the approval of such a decision in the police and discussion among residents.

Urgent, expensive and often unpopular solutions are needed - otherwise even the maintenance of existing public transport will soon be impossible, let alone development. This is one of the main common theses from various participants of the round table, organized by the "Center of Transport Strategies" together with the NGO "Vision Zero" . It was attended by representatives of Ukrainian manufacturers of public transport and its infrastructure, specialized industry experts, public activists and some representatives of authorities related to the topic of public transport.

For example, Volodymyr Budzan, commercial director of "Electronmash" , said that often after the delivery of trams in accordance with the contract, they have to wait half a year for payment for their products from an international donor, who provides the city of Lviv with a loan for the purchase of trams. This negatively affects the work of the enterprise, significantly inhibiting further production.

Dmytro Bespalov, lecturer of KNUBA, director of the company "ProMobility" said that public transport is the basis of the economy. Upgrading rolling stock is important, but infrastructure is more important, because infrastructure upgrades can provide more localization of products and more jobs.

The thesis about the importance of transport infrastructure was further developed by Pavlo Savtsov, head of sales in the areas of urban electric transport and metro at PJSC "Pluton" . For the most part, the cities of Ukraine, which before the full-scale war massively updated the various rolling stock of electric transport, most often did not update the infrastructure before it (railways, substations, contact network, etc.). And if they are already updated, then it is quite spot-on, when a serious failure of certain components occurs. This approach needs to change, as the new trolleybuses and trams will quickly turn into the same ones that ran 10 years ago.

Another considerable, in fact the main problem of organizing the work of urban public transport is its financing. Often, deputies, mayors or heads of communal enterprises believe that municipal carriers should not be unprofitable, but profitable. At the same time, forgetting that their only source of income is the sale of tickets to pay for travel. Demyan Danilyuk, an expert on public transport from the NGO Vision Zero , claims that the government should adopt a special program for the development of public transport, and the parliament should vote for it in the state budget. It would support the purchase of rolling stock at the expense of the state and local budgets, and the cities, in return, would have to take loans from international financial organizations to modernize the infrastructure. Our cities will not be able to make progress on their own, and this sector will continue to decline.

You can read more opinions expressed by all the participants of the round table in the material of the Center for Transport Strategies.

On June 9, 2023, members of the NGO "Vision Zero" arrived in Chernivtsi to receive up-to-date information about the operation of the city's public transport, its existing problems and challenges.

We managed to communicate with representatives of local self-government bodies there - deputy mayors Igor Krokhmal, Yevhen Makhovikov and director of the transport department Ludmila Svyrida. Based on the results of this meeting, we learned from them about the state of public transport in Chernivtsi and already implemented projects.

Lyudmila Svyrida said that private carriers still dominate the bus transport market of Chernivtsi, their share is 73% against 17% of buses of the communal carrier . Cooperation of Chernivtsi with private carriers is atypical compared to other cities. In particular, the city council provided for the operation of so-called "discounted routes". There is a rule that provides for 30% of seats free of charge for preferential categories of passengers. After that, private carriers receive compensation for them from the city budget.

Deputy Mayor Yevhen Mahovikov noted that the Chernivtsi Community Passenger Transport Development Program and Electric Transport Development Program are active in the city. They provide for the development of public transport, in particular electric, to improve the quality of transport.

Another important project that has already been successfully implemented in buses and trolleybuses of the KP Chernivtsi Trolleybus Administration is the introduction of the "electronic ticket" system . Validators are placed in vehicles for payment of travel by transport and bank card. The use of cash was completely excluded from the payment methods. Private carriers are not yet connected to the system.

During the meeting at the Chernivtsi Trolleybus Administration KP, its director Petro Lysak told how the work of the enterprise is currently being transformed. The city authorities are betting on further dominance in the transportation market. The main thing is to update the rolling stock. In recent years, Dnipro T203 trolleybuses with batteries for driving areas without a contact network and PTS-12 have been purchased for ChTU.

Also, Petro Lysak believes that the buses received by KP "ChTU" are a transitional period in order to ensure better regularity of public transport already now. In the future, electric transport will develop more and more. In his opinion, 80% of routes in the city could be covered by trolleybuses. However, this requires renewal of at least 70% of the rolling stock (old cars), as well as the purchase of additional vehicles. In addition, there is a need to complete and rebuild the contact network to enable the movement of trolleybuses in additional directions.

In the end, Petro Lysak noted that despite all the positive changes, there is an acute shortage of drivers and technical personnel for the maintenance of buses and trolleybuses in the KP "ChTU". They are trying to correct this by raising wages, improving working conditions, and encouraging students from vocational colleges to complete internships at the enterprise with further employment.

A couple of days ago, the Lviv tram celebrated its next birthday! This tram system is the first on the territory of modern Ukraine . From 1880 to 1908, horse traction was used for tram transportation in Lviv, and from 1894, the first electric trams appeared.

Photo: Volodymyr Karaim

The tram network of Lviv has gone through a long path of transformations or, on the contrary, crisis periods of work, in particular:

- complete closure of horse traction in 1908; - significant damage to the tram industry as a result of the First and Second World Wars; - the appearance on the routes of a considerable number of different and newer brands of rolling stock after 1950; - during the restoration of Ukraine's independence, new routes appeared, in particular, the largest project is the "tram to Sikhiv".

Photo: Volodymyr Karaim

A separate "highlight" of the Lviv tram is the celebration of the anniversaries of the beginning of its operation. Since 2014, LKP "Lvivelectrotrans" has started holding almost annual thematic celebrations with a diverse program. This year, on June 4 , it was an inspection of trams that were still in operation in the 20th century. and are now museum exhibits on the territory of the depot for all who are interested. Guests could sit in the salons of these trams, in their cabins and take photos. You can also hear the stories of connoisseurs of Lviv tram history, a festive orchestra and a special route complete the picture.

Many clarifications about the Lviv tram were made in the corresponding article in the Ukrainian "Wikipedia" by specialists of our public organization. We invite you to study the article and once again sincerely congratulate the Lviv tram!

Resolution of the Lviv Urban Mobility Forum, 
Lviv, April 26-28, 2023,
Preamble 

On April 26-29, 2023, the Ukrainian Urban Mobility Forum was held in Lviv. The event was organized by the team of the Department of Urban Mobility and Street Infrastructure of the Lviv City Council in cooperation with the NGO “Vision Zero”, within the framework of the project “TUMIVolt - Urban Mobility from Renewable Energy Sources”, implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany. The event was attended by more than 150 representatives of city councils, businesses, and NGOs from Ukraine and abroad. The event became a platform for dialogue between representatives of central and local governments, experts in the field of urban mobility, transport and infrastructure, business and NGOs. Participants exchanged experiences, learned best practices, and agreed on next steps. The outcome of the forum is this Resolution. 

Barrier-free street and transportation infrastructure

1. Barrier-free cities and transportation infrastructure is a strategically important common humanitarian goal. Cities, urban and intercity transport should function in a coordinated manner and be accessible to people with limited mobility.

2. The forum participants support the state's goals to achieve barrier-free access, as set out in the National Strategy for Creating Barrier-Free Space in Ukraine, and are already taking steps to conduct a barrier-free audit and improve the accessibility situation. However, achieving barrier-free cities, transport infrastructure, and transport services requires meaningful cooperation and assistance at the level of state executive authorities and state-owned enterprises.

3. The forum participants consider it critical to ensure the barrier-free accessibility of railway stations as key transportation hubs. City councils are ready to cooperate with Ukrzaliznytsia in this direction to make platforms, station buildings and station squares, public transport stops, parking spaces and other infrastructure elements barrier-free, and expect open and active cooperation from Ukrzaliznytsia, as well as appropriate state funding for design and construction work.

City public transportation

4. Ukraine should implement the European Commission Directive 1370/2007 as soon as possible in accordance with paragraph 1875 of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (on public passenger transport services by rail and road). This will enable cities to move to a modern and sustainable system of procurement of transportation work instead of the outdated and inefficient system of tenders for bus routes. The drafts of the relevant Laws of Ukraine were registered in the Verkhovna Rada under No. 5149 of 25.02.2021, No. 5150 of 25.02.2021, No. 5151 of 25.02.2021, No. 5152 of 25.02.2021, No. 5185 of 02.03.2021, but they have not been considered by the Verkhovna Rada for more than two years.

5. Public transport and urban mobility in general should be the subject of attention by the legislative and executive authorities and take an important place in public policy, in accordance with the documents and best practices of the European Union. The Committee on Transport and Infrastructure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine should resume including draft laws on urban mobility in the agenda of its meetings, and the Ministry of Infrastructure should be empowered to develop and implement state policy to promote sustainable urban mobility, including public transport, cycling, and road safety.

6. Cities are experiencing a staffing crisis in public utilities, with a particularly severe shortage of drivers and technicians in public transportation. The new Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has exacerbated this problem; for example, the Vinnytsia Transport Company has mobilized more than 100 employees into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The staffing crisis means that the new rolling stock will have no one to operate and no one to maintain it. Cities will not be able to solve this problem without legislative changes, in particular, to the system of financing public transport, driver training, etc. State support for vocational education in public transport is also needed.

7. The Forum participants consider the Law of Ukraine “On Certain Issues of the Use of Vehicles Equipped with Electric Engines and Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Overcoming Fuel Dependence and Development of Electric Charging Infrastructure and Electric Vehicles” in terms of quotas for electric buses in the procurement of rolling stock after 2024 to be unrealistic and insensitive to the situation in cities and the urban public transport industry in general, and one that does not take into account the need to update and develop the existing bus fleet. For many routes and settlements, high-quality bus service today will have a better environmental impact than a small number of electric buses in a few years. The provisions of this Law should be improved and supplemented by further legislative changes.

8. The government should recognize that electric public transport as a sector of the economy has significant potential for Ukraine's post-war recovery and integration into the EU. Ukrainian battery buses, trolleybuses and trams, and railway rolling stock can be competitive in domestic and foreign markets, bringing tax payments, quality jobs, innovative technological development, and export revenues to the state. Ukraine has the capacity to produce more than 1,000 buses, trolleybuses, and trams a year, but only a few dozen are produced. At the level of government policy and municipal procurement policies, it is advisable to prioritize Ukrainian producers and ensure a percentage of localization.

9. Deregulation of urban transport infrastructure: in cooperation between municipalities and state authorities, based on EU best practices, numerous obstacles to the development of electric public transport should be eliminated, including legal provisions (e.g., the need to conduct an environmental impact assessment for tram lines when such an assessment is not required for roads, the prohibition of tram and trolleybus traffic across railway crossings where buses are allowed), state building codes and state standards The DBN and DSTU should be reformed in Ukraine to remove outdated regulatory requirements that do not exist in EU countries. In the best case scenario, these norms should be converted to a parametric approach, specifying criteria for the final result rather than requirements for technical parameters (e.g., the regulatory requirement of a minimum distance of 20 meters from the tramway to the nearest residential buildings should be replaced by a requirement for the maximum permissible level of noise and vibration in residential buildings caused by tram traffic). It is also important to deregulate pricing and provide benefits for the use of public transportation.

10. Tax incentives for public transport. The forum participants propose to consider abolishing or reducing VAT on rolling stock and public electric transport infrastructure, in particular, exempting from VAT purchases made with the involvement of international financial organizations. This will allow cities to upgrade rolling stock and electric transport infrastructure more quickly, which is a very significant need. An important component of sustainable financing of urban passenger transportation is the restoration of the state subvention to compensate for public transportation privileges introduced by the state.

11. Low and zero emission zones in cities. Amendments to the Law of Ukraine on Local Self-Government, the Law of Ukraine on Road Traffic, and legislation regulating mechanisms for recording violations are needed to allow cities to plan and implement low-emission zones, following the example of cities in the European Union.

Road traffic safety

12. Planning before design. For infrastructure projects (roads, streets, bridges, tunnels, stations), a feasibility study should be included as a mandatory stage that precedes design. Amend legislation and regulations. The planning stage of infrastructure projects should include several new planning tools (in addition to the existing feasibility study): pre-feasibility study, transport concept, road safety impact assessment, and stakeholder consultations. 

13. The speed factor is the number one problem. Decisive measures should be taken to reduce excessive speed as a key factor that causes most road accidents with victims in Ukraine, in particular eliminate or reduce the tolerance threshold, which is currently 20 km/h, which is not in line with the practices of any EU country; introduce changes to speeding fines with a progressive increase in the amount of the fine for every 10 km/h; start developing a penalty point system to positively influence the smaller part of drivers who cause most of the problems and for whom monetary sanctions (fines) are not a deterrent.

14. Continue decentralization in the field of traffic management. The Law of Ukraine “On Road Traffic” already defines the responsibility of local authorities for road safety in communities, and the Law of Ukraine “On Roads” defines the need for road safety audits and the qualification requirements for auditors. However, there is no regulation of road safety audits on roads within the boundaries of settlements, and there is still duplication in the form of the requirement to simultaneously approve changes to traffic management by patrol police, which do not always have the necessary qualifications on the ground. Thus, the field of activity of qualified experts who have passed the relevant certification is more limited than the powers of regional patrol police units that do not have the relevant qualification requirements.

Transport integration of cities with suburbs

15. Inter-municipal cooperation. Develop the legislative framework for inter-municipal cooperation - update the Law of Ukraine “On Cooperation of Territorial Communities” as it is outdated and does not reflect the decentralization reform that took place later (creation of amalgamated communities). Over the 9 years of the law's existence, not a single large city has concluded an agreement with neighboring communities on inter-municipal cooperation, which indicates that the law is ineffective.

16. Law on agglomerations. Start drafting a specialized law on urban agglomerations, based on the example of EU countries, which will allow organizing effective cooperation between large cities and surrounding communities in the sector of transport services, infrastructure development and other services.

Cycling and micromobility

17. To empower the Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine: To amend the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 460 “On Approval of the Regulation on the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine” of June 30, 2015, in terms of the Ministry's powers regarding the formation and implementation of state policy in the cycling and light personal transport sector.

18. Complete the work on the National Bicycle Strategy of Ukraine, a draft of which was developed by representatives of civil society with the participation of cities in 2019-2021. The need to develop bicycle infrastructure and government support for this development has only increased as a result of the full-scale war.

19. Consider amendments to customs and tax legislation to exempt electric micromobility vehicles such as scooters and electric bicycles from import duties and VAT, following the example of private electric cars. Electric cars create congestion and take up urban space to the same extent as non-electric cars. Micromobility vehicles, on the other hand, do not.

20. Amend the Traffic Rules to detail the rules for the movement of light personal vehicles and amend the rules for cyclists, the draft of which has been developed by civil society.

21. Provide for the construction of bicycle paths as part of the construction of public roads of I and II categories.

Deregulation of parking

22. Amend the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1342 “On Approval of the Rules for Parking of Vehicles” of December 3, 2009 and the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1306 “On Traffic Rules” of October 10, 2001 and allow parking closer than specified in the restrictions, if it is provided for by the current traffic management scheme, does not impede traffic and does not violate the safety of road users, namely to allow for reduced distances from public transport stops, pedestrian crossings, entrances to adjacent territories, railroad crossings, solid waste sites, etc.

23. Develop separate State Building Standards for on-street parking, taking into account European experience, as currently, standards for the construction of multi-level garages (DBN B.2.3-15:2007 “Parking lots and garages for passenger cars”) are used to organize on-street parking.

24. Amend the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 258 “On Approval of the Procedure for Setting Tariffs for Services for the Use of Paid Parking Areas” of March 2, 2010, as the current pricing does not take into account modern approaches to parking organization (in particular, introduce a paid load factor, allow dynamic pricing, etc.)

Railway transport

25. Create the possibility of transferring railways and stations to the balance sheet or operation of communities, in particular, in the form of public-private partnerships. This should make it easier for local governments to invest in rail transport, not only in urban and suburban passenger transport, but also in the overall rail transport infrastructure located within communities.

26. Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Railway Transport”: Create the possibility of combining the arrival and departure schedules of railway transport with urban public transport. Provide local authorities with the opportunity to influence the distribution of railway transport capacity in such a way as to synchronize different modes of transport with each other for more efficient passenger transportation, in particular, by moving to a procedure for the procurement of public passenger transportation services by rail and road.

Following the Forum, the text of the resolution was formulated by the members of the organizing committee: 

Orest Oleskiv (Transport Administration, Department of Urban Mobility and Street Infrastructure of Lviv City Council) Pavlo Syrvatka (Street Infrastructure Administration, Department of Urban Mobility and Street Infrastructure of Lviv City Council) Marta Pastukh, (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), Viktor Zagreba, (NGO “Vision Zero”).

As a reminder, the All-Ukrainian Mobility Forum was held in Lviv on April 26-28, 2023. It brought together more than 100 experts in the field of sustainable urban mobility. We wrote more about the event in one of our previous publications. The purpose of the event was to share knowledge, experience, and formulate further coordinated plans for the development of urban mobility. As a result of the event, a resolution was adopted by the participants. The resolution consolidated theses on the main problems related to sustainable urban mobility in Ukrainian cities.  

On May 16, 2023, members of the NGO "Vision Zero" together with the correspondent of the Center for Transport Strategies (TCS) made an introductory visit to the city of Vinnytsia. The goal is the same: obtaining up-to-date information about implemented projects in the field of public transport and urban mobility.

During the visit, meetings were held with relevant heads of local self-government bodies and communal enterprises, in particular: with the director of the KP "Vinnytsiakartservice" Kateryna Babina, the director of the Department of Transport and Urban Mobility Andriy Sorokin, the head of the KP "Agency of Spatial Development" Maksym Kravchuk and acting Volodymyr Dudko, head of the technical department of KP "Vinnytsia Transport Company".

Based on the results of these meetings, they learned about the stages of the implementation of the "electronic ticket" project (that is, the introduction of an automated system of payment and passenger registration) in all public transport in Vinnytsia. At the announced tender, the Czech company "Mikroelektronika" won at one time with an offer of 5 million euros. As of now, about 500 vehicles are equipped with validators and POS terminals. Payment can be made by transport and bank cards, as well as cash + transfer available 30 minutes. in case of payment by transport card.

In addition to everything else, Vinnytsia is known for its Swiss "Mirage" trams, which the city received free of charge from the city of Zurich. They are used, but in good enough condition for transportation. They are the basis of the rolling stock of trams in Vinnytsia. It also became known that the city of Zurich will provide Vinnytsia with 16 Tram2000 model cars in 2023 as part of agreements to improve transport services during a full-scale war. In addition, KP "VTK" continues to improve its own "VinWay" trams, which have already proven themselves well.

During the meeting at the KP "Agency of Spatial Development", its head Maksym Kravchuk talked about the implemented projects related to urban mobility and those that are in the plans. In particular, this is the project of reconstruction of the Railway Station Square , which involves 4 stages of implementation and is related to the "Vinnytsia mile" project.

They also discussed Vinnytsia's experience of arranging "Viennese" stops, the problems of their use in conditions of diverse rolling stock.

We learned from the representative of the KP "Vinnytsia Tram-Trolleybus Administration" that Vinnytsia is one of the few cities in Ukraine that operates an electric bus. This is the Chinese "Skywell". However, the expediency of his work is debatable. It is charged in the depot for 5-6 hours (that is, at night), consumes 1 kW/km, in winter it can be 1.3 kW/km. Not the only significant advantage of this electric bus is that it rarely breaks down, since it has been in operation since 2019. Against the background of the fact that the company still has 30-40-year-old "ZiU" trolleybuses among all others, this is a really good indicator.

Finally, it should be noted that until recently, KP "VTK" was actively updating the infrastructure for the high-quality operation of electric public transport. This process slowed down somewhat due to the full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine. However, the plans include further modernization of substations, feeder lines and repair of tram tracks.

As part of the "All-Ukrainian Urban Mobility Forum" on 04/27/2023, the NGO "Vision Zero" held a round table on the topic "Development of electric public transport and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine".

The purpose of the round table was the exchange of opinions and assessments regarding the development of the electric public transport sector in Ukraine and the formation of joint proposals, which were later included in the Forum Resolution and covered in the mass media. The moderator of the round table was Viktor Zagreba, the chairman of the board of the NGO "Vision Zero" , and informational support was provided by the "Center of Transport Strategies" portal.

The participants of the round table together identified the main strategic obstacles and the vision for the development of electric public transport in the cities of Ukraine.

46 participants from 12 cities took part in the round table, including 16 officials of executive bodies and city councils and five representatives of transport utility companies. The most active participants: Vitaly Golutyak (Director of KP "Electroavtotrans"), Anton Hagen (World Bank), Kateryna Lozovenko (Director of LLC "Oresund"), Oleksandr Grechko (public initiative "Passengers of Kyiv"), Volodymyr Buzan (LLC "Zavod Electronmash" ), Vasyl Klat (Department of Transport, Mariupol), Ihor Makovtsev (Dnipro City Council), Dmytro Bespalov (ToV "Pro mobilitnost"), Orest Oleskiv (Head of the Department of Transport, Lviv), Marina Virkun (Department of Transport and Communications Kherson), Andriy Sorokin (Vinnytsia City Council) and from the hall Anton Brynykh (CP "Rivneelectrotrans").

The key points of the speeches are highlighted in the publication of the "Center for Transport Strategies" entitled "Legislative changes, shortage of personnel and electric buses: how cities see the post-war recovery of public transport."

"All-Ukrainian Urban Mobility Forum" was organized by the Department of Urban Mobility and Street Infrastructure of the Lviv City Council, with the support of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) as part of the "TUMIVolt - Urban Mobility from Renewable Energy Sources" project. The co-organizer of the event is the NGO "Vision Zero".

We have already written about the fact that from the beginning of 2023, the NGO "Vision Zero" began the de-Russification and modernization of the content in the Ukrainian "Wikipedia" on the topic of transport and mobility.

We consider this to be an important social mission, as currently Ukrainian-language articles are mostly literal translations of Russian versions, often with outdated information, photos, etc. We are currently working in several directions: updating existing articles and creating new ones that did not exist in Ukrainian, based on English-German articles. Updated articles:

• "Vinnytsia tram" NEW!
• "Lviv tram" NEW!
• "Public transport"
• "Tram"
• "Trolleybus"
• "Electrobus"
• "Public transport lane"
• "Karlsruhe Tram "

New articles:

• "Arnhem Trolleybus" NEW!
• "Growth of cities" NEW!
• "Lyon tram-train" NEW!
• "Street full house" NEW!
• "Rental of electric scooters" NEW!
• "Chonggecheon" NEW!
• "Multifunctional building" NEW!
• Railway station "Zurich-Silnau" NEW!
• "City of 15 minutes" NEW!
• "Tram 2000" NEW!
• " Zurich Transport Company" NEW!
• "Be 4/6" Mirage" NEW!
• "Balanced transport"
• "Induced demand"
• "Timetable"
• "Public transport route scheme"
• " Leipzig City Tunnel"
• "Leipzig Transport Company"
• "Transit-oriented development"

We will update this publication in accordance with the appearance of new and updated articles of the Ukrainian "Wikipedia". We invite you to follow, share with others and write to us if you know about the existence of articles without Ukrainian translation or those that need to be updated/created!

Draft law No. 8172 is aimed at the development of electric transport. This goal is in line with the European Green Deal, the European Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility and the Sustainable Development Goals. The draft law has two components: charging stations for cars and public transport. In terms of public transport, the norms of the adopted law, unfortunately, will not be able to have the expected positive impact on urban mobility in Ukraine. However, this is a positive start. By signing this statement, we propose that draft law No. 8172 be the beginning of a more thorough process of developing state policy in the field of public transport. Policies that correspond to industry documents and EU best practices, and are developed with the participation of key stakeholders — municipalities and their associations. We call on the legislators — in particular, the 24 initiators of draft law No. 8172 — to the following:

1) Move on. We propose to continue changes in state policies regarding the development of electric mobility in accordance with the directives of the European Commission and the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. In particular, (a) Development of the sectoral law "On public transport", instead of the outdated approach of the existence of two separate laws on automobile and on electric transport; (b) Development of the sectoral law "On alternative fuels" in accordance with the Association Agreement.

2) Recognize that a trolleybus is an electric bus. In terms of energy efficiency, practicality, service life and cost, the battery-powered trolley bus is superior to the battery-powered bus. Ukraine needs changes to legislation that will stop discrimination and "special treatment" of trolleybus systems. Ukraine already has the second largest number of cities with trolleybus systems in the world, and this is an asset that should be used and not thrown into the "dustbin of history". Trolleybuses and trams should be included in state policies for the development of electric mobility. We consider it expedient to define a trolley bus as an (electric) bus at the level of legislation, and to make a number of relevant changes in laws and by-laws;

3) Follow European practices. Ukraine should not invent "its own electric bus", but should carefully study the policies and mechanisms that exist in the EU and in individual member states in which electric transport is developed (Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland) and introduce similar policies and solutions. First of all, it is worth implementing the European integration obligations of Ukraine within the framework of the Association Agreement.

4) Cooperate with local self-government. State policy should be developed in a working dialogue with those who must then implement it, in this case — with cities and their associations. Draft law 8172 came as a surprise to the cities we surveyed, and they had too little time to make suggestions and comments. As a result, some local self-government officials express justified doubts about the possibility of implementing the provisions and goals of the law. The involvement of local self-government in the development of the content of the draft law is extremely important so that these laws are eventually implemented in real life;

5) Not to demand, but to facilitate. The norms of draft law 8172 are directive in nature and do not offer implementation mechanisms. Such an approach should not be inherent in a state in which the principles of democracy and decentralization prevail. The state should not tell the cities what they should do, but encourage and facilitate. The experience of the EU shows that this assistance should be primarily through co-financing mechanisms. We believe that state financing programs for the infrastructure and rolling stock of urban electric transport should be a mandatory element of state policy, and people's deputies, who set ambitious goals in Law 8172, should play a leading role in the development of such programs. We express our readiness to participate in the development of legislation on the issues highlighted above.