20 buses from Germany and Turkey have been idle for half a year in Odesa: why they are not allowed to run

For more than six months now, Odesa has been unable to launch 20 buses that were donated to the city as humanitarian aid by Regensburg and Istanbul.

This became known during a session of the Odesa City Council on 16 April, according to NikVesti.

Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov explained that the buses could not be launched due to legislative obstacles. The law prohibits the use of humanitarian aid to provide transportation services, and on the other hand, they simply cannot be cleared through customs in any other way, as from 2016 the environmental standard of vehicles imported into Ukraine must be at least Euro 5.

That is why the city authorities are waiting for the Verkhovna Rada to pass the relevant changes — draft law №12177-1 «On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Meeting the Needs of the Population for Transportation under Martial Law».

«When we received these buses, we hoped that the Verkhovna Rada would adopt the relevant changes and we would be able to put them on the route, but unfortunately, this has not happened yet. We found drivers and were ready to do it, but they can't wait. So we're waiting for them to wake up and finally pass this law. Today we have 20 buses from Turkey and Germany that we cannot use,» said Hennadii Trukhanov.

New transport for Mykolaiv

In November 2023, Norway donated passenger buses to Mykolaiv, each of which can accommodate almost 100 people. It was planned that the buses would run to the Korabelnyi district, but the city faced difficulties with the commissioning of new buses due to the lack of drivers.

In December last year, it was announced that Mykolaiv would receive 30 new trolleybuses with an autonomous range of up to 20 kilometres.

In June 2023, Mykolaiv received a second new trolleybus as part of the renewed cooperation with the EBRD. The city was also to receive seven buses from Prague.

In March 2024, it became known that the government had launched a bus passenger transport reform aimed at improving passenger service and creating favourable conditions for the legal operation of carriers.

At the same time, Mykolaiv received three new buses as part of a programme funded by the Danish government through the United Nations Office for Project Services.

In August 2024, two modern autonomous trolleybuses were delivered to Mykolaiv. They are equipped with an autonomous running system, air conditioning, and are adapted to carry people in wheelchairs.

Read the article NikVesti «Public transport in Mykolaiv: restoration thanks to international support».