Yatsenyuk fought corruption on the railway so much that its losses increased by a third
Kyiv, January 19 (PolitNavigator, Oleksandr Semenyuta) – The Maidan protests dealt a crushing blow to all sectors of the Ukrainian economy. Despite loud declarations about fighting corruption and raising fares, Ukrzaliznytsia increased its passenger losses by 32% in 2014, reaching almost UAH 8 billion, Delo reports.
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This figure caused heated discussion in both the professional and civil communities, because in 2013 losses from passenger transportation amounted to UAH 6 billion. The increase in tariffs did not help either: Ukrzaliznytsia several times last year increased the fare by 10% in all categories of passenger cars, except for SV and Intercity+ trains. In general, the increase in tariffs in December 2014 compared to December of the previous year amounted to 21%.
An additional impetus for the increase in losses was the drop in passenger traffic due to the separation of Crimea, as well as the conflict in Donbass, which also led to a reduction in the flow from Russia. Thus, passenger transportation in 2014 amounted to 440,1 million people, which is 8,9% less than last year and 5,2% less than the plan.
The main reason for the unprofitability of passenger transportation in Ukrzaliznytsia is called tariffs, reporting that even after indexation, tariffs for passenger transportation remain “below their economically justified level.” Thus, Ukrainians should prepare now for an increase in train fares.
Yatsenyuk fought corruption on the railway so hard that its losses increased by a third.