Minsk public transport tickets cost thrice as much as in Kiev

The fare will increase to 5 thousand roubles in August in Minsk. Misnktrans does not refute or confirm the information. However, it claims that passengers do not even cover 50% of the expenses.

“The payback has been 47.1% for four months. It was even less before. The payback totalled 33.1% last year. The situation in the metro is a bit better – about 54%,” Minsktrans told Euroradio. This is the average number including the cost of tickets bought from drivers. The payback is increasing very slowly, the transport enterprise claimed. It is not difficult to calculate that a ticket should cost 8200 roubles for the public transport to pay for itself. Officials used to say that it had to cost 5 or 6 thousand roubles.

The fare has increased at least 10 times since 2008 – from Br600 to Br3700, Euroradio calculated. The payback of the public transport is also about 50%, Kiev officials say. But the last time the fare increased there was in...2008!

“A ticket costs 1.5 hryvni. A metro ticket costs 2 hryvni (about 1200-1500 Belarusian roubles. – Euroradio). We envy Minsk! We apply for a fare increase several times a year but they keep refusing us. We were going to increase the fare to 3 hryvni  after the New Year’s Day but no one dared to do it due to our political situation!” the economic department of Kievpastrans told Euroradio. They wondered why we had the same payback – the fuel costs a bit more in Kiev.

“The state gives us some money but diesel fuel is more expensive here. It costs 14.5 hryvni (about 12600) and drivers are paid about 5500 hryvni. Is your fare is increasing together with the wages?”  Kievpastrans wondered.

Interestingly, the payback has already reached almost 100% for buses in Baranavichy. A ticket costs 3200 roubles there.

“The payback has totalled 92.9% over four months. We just spend less than we make,” they explained.