“Ukrzaliznytsia” changes its tariff policy: why tickets may rise sharply in price
8 August 2025 22:10
“Ukrzaliznytsia” is considering introducing a flexible tariff policy for tickets, especially for those who buy them at the last minute. Chairman of the Board of JSC Oleksandr Pertsovsky announced possible changes in the company’s tariff policy, which include the introduction of dynamic pricing for railway tickets on August 8 during a meeting with journalists, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
It is not about a general price increase, but about the formation of a more flexible model, according to which those passengers who buy tickets in advance will be able to take advantage of the lowest fares, while those who make a purchase at the last minute will have higher prices. This practice is common in many European countries, including Germany, Italy, and France.
Pertsovsky noted that ticket prices are currently artificially kept low, and even with rising costs, the company is unable to compensate for the cost of transportation. According to him, the passenger segment of UZ’s business is unprofitable, and the total amount of underfunding has reached UAH 20 billion. In this context, dynamic pricing can be not only a way to partially cover losses but also a tool to reduce the shortage of tickets to the most popular destinations.
The issue of social balance remains critically important. Pertsovsky emphasized that no tariff changes are planned for military personnel and other socially vulnerable categories. The basic ticket prices for them will remain the same. The flexible pricing model will be applied only to regular tickets to commercial destinations where there is a stable demand, especially during peak periods.
Today, demand for the most popular destinations, such as Kyiv-Lviv and Kyiv-Ivano-Frankivsk, is 7-10 times higher than supply. During the week of July 15-21 alone, the system registered more than 140,000 requests for the Kyiv-Lviv route, while the number of seats was about 18,000. This mismatch between supply and demand leads to speculation, artificial shortages, and sometimes abuse with the resale of tickets through unofficial channels.
Ukrzaliznytsia sees the solution to this problem in the use of a flexible tariff mechanism. At the same time, the company promises to ensure maximum transparency of the pricing algorithm to avoid accusations of imposing excessive markups or abuse.
Read also: Ukrzaliznytsia plans to restructure more than $1 billion of external debt
In the long term, the introduction of dynamic pricing could help Ukrzaliznytsia increase investments in rolling stock renewal, expand the number of flights to popular destinations, and improve the overall quality of service. However, Pertsovsky noted that this requires support from the government, as well as the understanding of passengers, who must gradually get used to European standards of flexible travel planning.
The changes will be implemented in stages and will initially affect a limited number of routes. The results should provide an answer to the question of how well this model works in the Ukrainian passenger transportation market. If successful, it is planned to scale it up for transportation throughout Ukraine.
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