Kiev is reevaluating transportation operations during alarms: what changes are being considered? (video)
On January 7, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Timur Tkachенко, announced that the Defense Council would discuss transport operations during alarms. This was reported via his Telegram channel.
"The development of an algorithm for the functioning of ground public transport during air alarms," the official noted as one of the items for discussion at the upcoming meeting of the city Defense Council.
Tkachенко also brought up the issue of official business trips abroad for representatives of local self-government bodies and employees of the KMVA. As he clarified, the aim is to ensure that trips are coordinated through the Defense Council and justified as necessary, since budget funds are being used for them.
The third item for discussion is the removal of vehicles damaged in shelling from the streets of the capital. The head of the KCCA promised to provide information on further steps "in the near future."
How transport operations in Kyiv will change during alarms
As reported on January 9 by the publication "Rubrika," Tkachенко revealed details during a telethon. He explained that currently, Kyiv is the only city in Ukraine where transport is halted during air alarms.
He emphasized that the capital remains a constant target for the Russian Armed Forces, which is why several options for changes in safety protocols for passengers are being considered. In particular, one of these options suggests that transport will be stopped zone-wise in case of threats from specific types of weapons.
"The decision must be well-considered. In any case, we cannot neglect the safety of Kyiv residents," the head of the KMVA stressed.
He stated that the curfew in Kyiv will not be reconsidered.
1 In Kharkiv, transport is not halted due to collapse
A resident of the left bank of Kyiv, where metro services to the right bank stop during alarms, Maria complained in a report by "Fakty ICTV" that due to safety rules, she is forced to switch to overcrowded minibuses and sometimes spends two hours instead of 45 minutes traveling home.
She recalled an incident when she and other passengers were dropped off from a bus in the middle of the Northern Bridge. Kyiv residents walked on foot and searched for "extra 500 hryvnias" for a taxi as the time approached the start of the curfew.
The driver of a Kyiv trolleybus, Valeriy, shared that sometimes passengers flatly refuse to get off, and he has no right to force them. Such individuals remain seated inside the vehicle until the alarm is lifted.
At the same time, Valeriy noted that he transports a hundred people and cannot take responsibility for their lives. He explained that if a person is traveling in their own car, they are responsible for themselves, whereas the situation is different with public transport.
In frontline Kharkiv, which suffers from constant shelling by the Russian Armed Forces, transport restrictions were also introduced in the first months of the full-scale war but were later lifted.
"A complete collapse. It’s impossible to do this; we understand that perfectly. Because everything will stop, people will just go out into the street and won’t know how to get around," explained Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
2 In Ivano-Frankivsk, transport only stops during massive shelling, but in most cities, a unified rule applies — passengers stop their trips and seek shelter at their own discretion. A similar principle operates in Kyiv's suburban trains: people are simply warned of danger and urged to go to shelters, but movement does not cease. It is said that this could create a collapse on the railway.
The halt in transport operations encourages Kyiv residents to switch to cars, which mainly flow in large streams across two bridges — the Metro Bridge and the Paton Bridge. However, urbanist Dmytro Besspalov explained that these structures are in emergency condition and could lose their load-bearing capacity at any moment.
3 4 Kyiv residents have already created a petition
New rules for ground transport in Kyiv came into effect on August 1, 2022. Since then, minibuses, buses, trolleybuses, and trams must stop in safe locations during danger, and passengers must exit and head to the nearest shelters. The metro, during alarms, does not operate on above-ground sections, only transporting passengers to the nearest underground stations.
The idea was that after an alarm was declared, a bus would stop and let all passengers out. They would proceed to a shelter where they would wait for the all-clear, and then return within 10 minutes to continue their journey without paying again.
5 A petition to repeal such a decision gained the necessary number of votes on the Kyiv City Council's website, but authorities explained that they do not have such powers, and it depends on the capital's Defense Council.
Recall that on January 9, the Verkhovna Rada supported changes to the law "On Military Registration and Military Service," which concerns BOVP. Such preparation will last for a month, and both men and women will undergo it, but there is one nuance.