On September 4, 2024, the NGO "Vision Zero" published the analytical document "Recommendations regarding the implementation of the obligation to provide socially important services (PSO) from transportation to the legislation of Ukraine based on EU Regulation 1370/2007" . The implementation of PSO in transport is one of Ukraine's obligations under the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, which was not fulfilled in time by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Experts of the NGO "Vision Zero" analyzed alternative legislative documents that have been registered in the Verkhovna Rada since 2021. The first is government draft law No. 4583 "On Amendments to Some Laws of Ukraine Regarding Publicly Important Passenger Transportation Services by Road and City Electric Transport." This 4-page document, according to the analysis, is very short and clearly insufficient to reform the rules of the game in the industry. In addition, he received a critical opinion from the European integration committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and criticism from public organizations. As it became known, it was created behind closed doors, without consultation with local self-government bodies and the public sector.
The conclusions of the analytical document emphasize that the government draft law No. 4583 of January 13, 2021 is insufficient for the implementation of the provisions of EU Regulation 1370/2007. The lack of accompanying draft laws on amendments to the Budget Code and legislation on public procurement makes the practical application of PSO almost impossible.
In response to the government document, in February 2021, a much more substantial parliamentary package of five draft laws was registered in the parliament: No. 5149 dated 02.25.2021, with a volume of 60 printed pages, and four to supplement it: No. 5150, No. 5151, No. 5152 , No. 5185, which should support the provisions of the main draft law, harmonizing with it the Budget Code, the Tax Code, the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and the Law of Ukraine "On Public Procurement". The authors of the recommendations assessed this legislative package as "much more detailed and well-thought-out in terms of measures that are necessary for reforming the sphere of urban public transport."
Based on the analysis, the NGO "Vision Zero" calls on the Verkhovna Rada to take as a basis the parliamentary package of draft laws, which in the future will allow for long-term obligations between customers and carriers, will improve the financial condition and quality of transport services.
As a result, the document contains conclusions and four recommendations for people's deputies of Ukraine:
Real reformation instead of the formal "adoption of the European integration law".
The authors emphasize that Ukraine needs the implementation of Regulation 1370/2007 not only in order to report on another fulfilled point of obligations to the EU, but to open up an opportunity to bring the industry of urban and suburban passenger transportation out of a long and difficult crisis. This industry has a large number and national scale of accumulated problems. They remind that public services are an important social service for the majority of Ukrainians, because more than half of Ukrainian households did not have a single car as of 2024.
Complex problems require complex solutions, and public transport problems are certainly complex.
"Ukraine's experience shows that complex problems of state policy cannot be solved by short and ill-conceived draft laws, which are developed hastily without the participation of interested parties. We recommend the legislator to abandon this unsustainable practice and apply effective methods and algorithms for the development of state policy," the recommendations state.
Take the parliamentary package of draft laws No. 5149, 5150, 5151, 5152 and 5185 as a basis for further work on the implementation of EU Regulation 1370/2007 in Ukraine.
The document gives specific reasons why the parliamentary package of draft laws is much closer to the possibility of implementing the Regulation in Ukraine than the short and short-sighted government document.
Develop state policy for cities and citizens with the participation of cities and citizens.
The authors claim that the government project of Law 4583 was developed without the participation of the main stakeholders - local self-government bodies. Moreover, he became a surprise for them. This wrong practice should not be repeated and continued.
In addition to recommendations, the document contains a brief overview of the main provisions of EU Regulation 1370/2007 "On public passenger transport services by rail and road transport", which may be useful for readers who encounter the topic for the first time.
We invite you to review the analytical document "Recommendations on the implementation of the obligation to provide socially important transportation services (PSO model) to the legislation of Ukraine based on EU regulation 1370-2007 " by clicking on the picture:
The implementation of PSO to the legislation of Ukraine was one of the points of the Resolution of the All-Ukrainian Urban Mobility Forum, which took place in Lviv on April 26-28, 2023, with the participation of more than 150 representatives of city councils, enterprises, and public organizations. Clause 4 of the Resolution stated that Ukraine should implement European Commission Directive 1370/2007 as soon as possible in accordance with Clause 1875 of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU (regarding public passenger transport services by rail and road transport), as this will open the possibility for cities to move to modern and a sustainable system of procurement of transport work instead of an outdated and inefficient system of tenders for bus routes.
NGO "Vision Zero" was founded in 2016 and focuses its efforts on three strategic directions around the topic of "Zero" in the mobility sector: improving road safety with the aim of achieving zero deaths, development of emission-free (electric) public transport and barrier-free transport infrastructure and services .