‘Public transport is not a privilege’: Kyiv residents take to the streets to protest against fare rises

On 14 July, a protest took place outside the Kyiv City State Administration building against the sharp rise in public transport fares in the capital. It was organised by the non-governmental organisation ‘Social Movement’. At the time, a closed-door session of the Kyiv City Council was taking place inside the building, so the protesters demanded that representatives of the city authorities come out to them and explain the decision on the new fares. When no one came out to meet the protesters, some of the participants entered the Kyiv City State Administration building, where they chanted slogans and addressed the city councillors directly.

One of the main demands of the protest was the cancellation of the fare increase until people’s incomes rise.

Until the government and the Verkhovna Rada raise the minimum wage to 15,000 hryvnias, any decision to increase transport fares in Kyiv amounts to extortion. “Any such decision constitutes an anti-social crime,” said Vitaliy Dudin, a representative of the “Social Movement”.

According to him, the city authorities cite the average wage in Kyiv as being around 50,000 hryvnias, yet the actual incomes of many public sector workers are significantly lower.

Nurses earn 8,000–12,000 hryvnias, and nursery teachers also earn around the minimum wage. Cultural workers also have very low incomes, which do not even come close to half the average wage cited by the authorities,” he emphasised.

Another representative of the ‘Social Movement’, Oleksiy Gromov, raised the issue of how the fare increases are affecting military families. He recounted the words of a veteran who, despite being entitled to free travel, is worried about his loved ones.

‘Although I have a combat veteran’s ID card, which allows me to travel for free, this price rise for my family, for my mum – it’s a blow to my family,’ he quoted the veteran as saying.

After that, the protesters chanted the slogan together several times:

“Don’t stab our families in the back!”

According to representatives of the civil society organisation ‘Passengers of Kyiv’, the new fares will not only hit passengers’ pockets but also worsen the transport situation in the capital.

In effect, with this price rise, the city authorities are forcing people to switch to cars. As a result, there will be even more cars in Kyiv. Look at the prices: discounted parking for taxpayers costs 1,499 hryvnias a month. That’s much cheaper than the new unlimited travel pass,” noted a representative of the organisation.

Students also joined the protest.

A spokesperson for the ‘Direct Action’ student union called on the city authorities to find other ways to fund public transport.

“If they see problems with funding, then let them solve them in another way, not by reaching into the pockets of citizens and passengers,” he said, after which the participants chanted another slogan: “Public transport is not a privilege!”

A 17-year-old member of the Ukrainian Socialist League also spoke about the problems facing young people.

“Out of my class, only three of us decided to stay and study in Ukraine. And I want to ask our authorities: why should those who have made such a difficult decision to stay here have to spend their entire scholarship on a travel pass – or even more?” he said.

Public sector workers also spoke during the protest, explaining how the new fares would affect their daily lives.

Elena, an employee at one of the capital’s libraries, noted that even her current income is insufficient and that once the fares rise, getting to work will become almost impossible.

“We support culture; we work for the public, for internally displaced persons and people with disabilities; we teach people how to use computers and provide free access to technology. But on my salary, I cannot afford to spend two and a half thousand hryvnias just on the journey to work.” “Please take into account the situation of workers in the cultural and public sectors,” she appealed.

Valentyna, an employee at the Kyiv Conservatoire, raised a similar issue.

“How am I supposed to make ends meet? First, set a minimum wage of 15,000 hryvnias for all Kyiv residents. Then we’ll somehow manage to get by and adjust to a 30-hryvnia fare. But you’re not raising our wages.” What am I supposed to do – walk to the conservatoire from the Left Bank?” she said.

The speech by pensioner Vladimir Ivanov, which was addressed directly to the mayor, was also emotional.

“I liked the slogan: ‘Klitschko, you’re not a mayor, you’re a looter’. And I want to say: you’re not looking ahead to tomorrow, nor are you looking at the reality of life in Kyiv today,” he declared.

Not only passengers, but also transport sector workers said that the fare increase did not solve their problems. One Kyiv Metro employee explained that, following the initial fare increase, staff at the company had indeed received a pay rise of around 10 per cent. At the same time, he said, their family members are not entitled to free travel, so the additional transport costs have effectively cancelled out the pay rise.

“Our wages were raised by about ten per cent, but our spouses, husbands and children still have to pay for their journeys. As a result, this pay rise was simply ‘eaten up’ by the new fares,” he said.

Another protester pointed out that at the start of the full-scale invasion, the mayor, Vitali Klitschko, had publicly promised not to raise travel fares until the end of martial law. In her view, the current decision contradicts that promise.

Activists entered the Kyiv City State Administration building. What did Klitschko say?

After the main speeches, some of the protesters entered the Kyiv City State Administration building, where they chanted slogans and demanded a meeting with government representatives.

Eventually, several MPs from the ‘European Solidarity’ faction assured them that they, too, did not support a sharp increase in fares without a detailed economic justification.

“The point is that any increase in tariffs must be gradual and justified. We need to hear from the authorities exactly what the fare consists of and why it is set at this particular level. If we are told that an economically justified fare is 70 hryvnias, we need to see the evidence for that. And only then can we talk about a gradual increase,” said Lyudmyla Kovalevska, a member of the Kyiv City Council.

Her colleague, Kyiv City Council member Marina Poroshenko, emphasised that the “European Solidarity” faction had tabled a draft resolution to cancel the fare increase and opposed a sharp and non-transparent rise in fares.

Subsequently, the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, promised to meet with representatives of the protesters during public hearings scheduled for 16 July.

Why has the fare increase caused such a stir?

As a reminder, from 15 July 2026, the cost of a single journey on Kyiv’s public transport is set to rise from 8 to 30 hryvnias. The Kyiv City State Administration attributes this to rising costs for electricity, fuel, rolling stock maintenance and labour. Officials also point out that the average salary in the capital has reportedly risen to almost 50,000 hryvnias.

However, during a public consultation, 96 per cent of participants opposed the fare increase. A petition calling for fares to remain unchanged until the end of martial law gathered more than 10,600 signatures, but the city authorities rejected it. Alla Basalaeva, head of the State Audit Service, stated that the new fares may be inflated due to a sharp rise in depreciation costs and announced that they would be audited in the autumn.

The cost of the monthly unlimited travel pass caused the greatest outrage, reports Ekonomichna Pravda. Initially, the plan was to increase it from 1,300 to 4,875 hryvnias. Following a wave of criticism, the price was reduced by 25 per cent to 3,656 hryvnias.

Despite this, economists point out that even after this reduction, Kyiv’s unlimited travel pass remains one of the least value-for-money in Europe. Whilst in most EU capitals a monthly pass pays for itself after around 23 journeys, in Kyiv it takes nearly 122. This means that the new fare policy is unlikely to encourage residents to use public transport more often. Moreover, experts warn that more expensive public transport, combined with relatively cheaper parking, may, on the contrary, prompt some Kyiv residents to switch to private cars, which will only exacerbate traffic congestion and the strain on the city’s infrastructure.