Kyiv authorities say when trolleybuses and trams, suspended for over month, will resume operations

Surface electric-powered public transport in Kyiv, which has been out of operation for more than 40 days, will be able to resume once the situation in the power system stabilises following Russian strikes.

Source: a response from the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Transport Infrastructure to a question from Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "Electric-powered transport services will be able to resume once power engineers confirm there is a stable electricity supply and provided the conditions for the safe operation of infrastructure are in place."

Details: It is noted that Kyivpastrans, a Kyiv transport company, has deployed the maximum possible human and technical resources – approximately 96% of available buses are running on passenger routes daily.

The metro is also operating as normal.

The Department of Transport Infrastructure added that, together with Kyivpastrans, it has developed an action plan for emergency situations related to power outages.

The plan provides that:

• duplicate bus routes are launched along key electric-powered transport routes with the highest passenger flows
• bus route schemes are determined based on passenger demand
• decisions are made depending on the situation (availability of power supply, road conditions, security considerations, etc.).

Meanwhile, it is noted that fully replacing electric-powered transport with buses is difficult, as these are systems of different scales.

"The available bus fleet and the maximum possible number of drivers are used for passenger transport. The same situation applies to private carriers serving public city bus routes in the capital," the response states.

The Department added that the overall staffing situation under martial law also affects transport operations.

"Companies are operating with limited staffing resources, as the state does not grant 100% exemption from military mobilisation for Kyivpastrans drivers, which has an extremely negative impact both on transport operations and on rolling stock repairs," the response says.

The Department also stressed that, despite these challenges, municipal transport and road companies, public transport drivers and energy workers are working hard and doing everything possible to stabilise the situation in the city.

Background: On 13 January, surface electric-powered transport in the capital was halted after Russian strikes on energy infrastructure.

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