The Ukrainian government is preparing a new program that will allow citizens to travel for free within the country. This initiative will provide Ukrainian citizens with the opportunity to travel up to 3,000 kilometers by rail for free. This step is aimed at increasing the use of the country's railway system and expanding citizens' travel opportunities.
Redaksiya reports that Serhiy Leshchenko, deputy chairman of the supervisory board of "Ukrzaliznytsia," noted that this program will only be applied during periods when carriages are half-empty. This means that Ukrainians will not be able to use free trains during peak periods within the framework of the "UZ-3000" program. "Ukrzaliznytsia" representatives stated that it will be limited to up to four trips or two round trips per user. However, this number may change. Tickets will only be purchased for oneself and one's children to prevent speculation.
The free kilometer program is intended only for plaskart (open-plan carriage) and kupe (compartment) tickets. Free kilometers are not provided in the premium segment. On the contrary, the premium segment envisages "dynamic pricing and additional earning opportunities." The chairman of the board of "Ukrzaliznytsia" emphasized that the financing of this program will be carried out not from the state budget, but through a revision of premium segment ticket prices. According to him, in the worst case, the program will cost the company 400 million hryvnias in revenue. The use of kilometers can be tracked in the mobile application. It is also planned to create recommendations in the application for directions that can be traveled with these kilometers from the current city where a person is located. The company representative added that instead of "directly" raising prices in the premium segment, it is necessary to carry out a certain indexing or dynamic pricing, as these changes are ripe and necessary.
The state-owned "Ukrzaliznytsia" plans to launch the pilot project of the new "UZ-3000" program for Ukrainians as early as December 1st. The program is designed for the winter season and will have a number of restrictions. In addition, the chairman of the board noted that the average cost of a plaskart ticket is currently 374 hryvnias. Its market cost, however, costs the company more than 1000 hryvnias. The main goal of this program is to increase the use of railway transport and expand citizens' travel opportunities.