Lviv completes new, EBRD-financed fast tram line and introduces e-ticket system
Western Ukrainian municipality celebrates massive step forward in public transport
The Western Ukrainian city of Lviv will celebrate a big step forward in the modernisation of its public transport today with the completion of a fast tram line and the inauguration of a state-of-the-arte-ticket system. The new line — supported with a €6 million loan by the EBRD and a parallel investment grant of €5 million from the German Ministry for the Environment — will link the main residential area of Sykhiv with a population of almost 150,000 with the city centre of Lviv. It will improve the reliability and efficiency of ecologically-friendly, electric public transport and promote its use, thus significantly reducing the level of emissions from cars. Additional grant funding was provided by the EU. At the same time the municipal transport operator Lvivavtodor will introduce a state-of-the-arte-ticket system with the procurement, installation and management of the necessary hardware, software and e-cards. The new automated fare collection system (AFC) will be supported by the EBRD with a €10 million loan. It will help Lvivavtodor to improve its operational and financial performance as well as to provide a modern fare collection system based on best international practice. The introduction of one of the first AFC systems in Ukraine will also benefit the municipal budget. The project is supported by the Ukraine Stabilisation and Sustainable Growth Multi-Donor Account, established at the EBRD in November 2014, to support the country’s efforts to reform its economy, improve its business climate and return to a path of sustainable growth. Contributors to the fund are Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. During the construction of the new tram line the EBRD also identified and resolved the issue of the rehabilitation of a sewerage collector under Chervonoyi Kalyny Avenue and Khutorivka street bridge, which represented significant bottlenecks for the project. The Bank provided an additional €6 million loan for this alone. Sevki Acuner, EBRD Director for Ukraine, said: «Today we are doing something very important for the city of Lviv and the local community. The fast tram line will help local dwellers get to the city centre in about 25 minutes and it is comfortable ride for which many have been waiting for over 25 years! We think it is important that the trams used on this route will also be manufactured locally. Finally, today we signed an AFC project, which will make local municipal transport more efficient and modern. There are not many municipalities around the country that can demonstrate such important achievements. It is a benchmark the city and the EBRD can be proud of.» Ambassador Hugues Mingarelli, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine said: «Managing a successful transition towards a more sustainable type of urban mobility remains a major challenge for cities across this country. This project is a good example how to address adequately the urban mobility patterns concerning economic, environmental, and social impacts. The EU has supported this project with a € 5 million non-refundable grant».
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost €12 billion through 369 projects since the start of its operations in the country in 1993. Ambassador Hugues Mingarelli, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine said: «Managing a successful transition towards a more sustainable type of urban mobility remains a major challenge for cities across this country. This project is a good example how to address adequately the urban mobility patterns concerning economic, environmental, and social impacts. The EU has supported this project with a € 5 million non-refundable grant».
