Air Alerts to Halt Kyiv Ground Transportation

Effective August 1, all public ground transportation in Kyiv must temporarily stop during air alerts. The decision has been adopted by the Defense Council of Kyiv and will affect more than 3 million daily riders.

Mykola Povoroznyk, first deputy chairman of the Kyiv State Administration (KMDA) said: “According to the recommendations of the State Emergency Service, starting today, the city introduces mandatory rules for the operation of all public transport, in particular ground, during an air alert affecting Kyiv.”

The order applies to the Kyivpastrans municipal company, which maintains tram, bus, trolleybus and urban rail transport for 1.5 million daily passengers, as well as all private companies that provide passenger transportation services.

Kyiv Metro’s three subway lines will stop and will close stations during alarms, affecting approximately 1.6 million (2016) daily riders.

The KMDA also responded to Kyiv Post that taxis and ride-hailing services  should stop if the passenger requests it and allow them to disembark.

Operators must choose “a safe place in accordance with the Traffic Rules and ensure that passengers can leave the cabin. After that, passengers should go to the nearest shelter,” Povoroznyk explained.

He urged citizens to understand the safety rules, go straight to a shelter and not create crowds at the stops; furthermore that after the air alarm is canceled passengers will be able to continue their journey in the same vehicle or use the next one without needing to re-pay the fare after the alarm has been turned off. Controllers are being warned about this and will receive appropriate instructions.

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The locations of shelters can be found via the Official Portal of the City of Kyiv here, as well as in the city application Kyiv Digital.

The new rules do not yet make clear what, precisely, is classified as the duration of the air alarm, i.e. whether this is for the period of the siren (typically a matter of minutes) or the period for which the threat remains in place, (as indicated on the Kyiv Digital app through use of red and green indicators, which can last from several  minutes to hours).