One of the most important things to know before arriving to a new city is public transport. How it works, how much it costs, where to buy tickets, etc. That’s why I decided to make a Kyiv Public Transport Guide to help the travelers coming to Ukrainian capital with navigating around the city. Let’s begin.
General Info: Kyiv transportation network is vast and can be a bit confusing for an unprepared traveler. But this Guide will help you with understanding and using it better.
Main types of transport are:
- Metro
- Buses
- Trams and Trolleybuses
- “Marshrutkas” – mini-buses of private transportation companies
Thing to know – there is no “one ticket for all” system like in the majority of European cities. Tickets for metro, buses and Marshrutkas are separately bought tickets
Let’s get into the details for each transport.
Metro
TOP TIP: if you have a choice of transport – always choose metro!
Metro in Kyiv is the best way to get around the city. It is clean, fast and accessible. Metro covers the city center and well as surrounding areas.
Tickets are in a form of rounded tokens and they are bought either in the ticket desks like this:
Attention: in a ticket desk you can buy only up to 2 tickets at the time!
Or from one of the ticket machines like this:
There are different types of those machines but overall the mechanism is the same: you put a certain amount of money inside and it gives you tokens.
Price of a token: 4 UAH (0,13 EUR)
How to enter the station: you should throw a token into the turnstile
Here’s the Kyiv Metro Map:
Check out my Kyiv Metro Map Guide HERE
Buses
Buses typically look like this:
Buses in Kyiv work pretty much like in any other country of Europe. They are relatively spacious although at times they may be overcrowded. Again, I would like to return to my TOP TIP – if you have a choice always use metro!
But if you’re using a bus here’s how to do it in a no-stress way.
Price of the ticket: 3 UAH (0,10 EUR)
Buying a ticket depends on the area of a city and the type of the bus.
In the City Center area there would be a bus conductor so you can buy a ticket from him.
If there’s no bus conductor on the bus then you can buy a ticket from the driver
If there’s no bus driver in the bus then probably you chose the wrong bus 🙁
After buying a ticket you should stamp it using the validation machine in the bus.
To check the routes and timetables for buses use EWAY website.
Trams, Trolleybuses
They work the same way as buses:
- you get in
- buy a ticket either from the conductor or from the driver
- stamp it to validate
- enjoy your magical ride in Ukrainian public transport
“Marshrutkas”
This is an honest Kyiv Public Transport Guide and I am trying to describe everything as it is to make your Kyiv experience better. That’s why I would like to say the following:
Avoid marshrutkas at all costs!
This is the worst kind of transport for navigating around the city.
What is a marshrutka exactly? Basically it is a mini-bus of a private company on a regular public transport routes that is partially controlled by the city officials.
If you happen to take a marshrutka, then the rules are the following:
- you get in, there is a price of the trip written somewhere near the driver in big letters (prices can differ). Usually the price is around 5-6 UAH (0. 14 EUR)
- you pay directly to the driver – there are no tickets or tokens, just like this
- if you got on the mini-bus through the back door you would have to give money to a passenger standing next to you and say: “Peredayte bud’ laska” which stands for “Please pass the money to the driver”. If you happen to give more than the ticket costs, then driver should give you back the change.
Marshrutkas cover many areas of the city and they are everywhere. Sometimes to reach some attraction outside the center you will have to use them as there’s no other way to reaching a destination. But if you’re in the city center use metro or buses.
To check timetables and routes of marshrutkas go to EWAY website
Thank you for reading!
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Pavlo is an experienced travel writer published by CNN, BBC, The Guardian, The Independent, The Irish Times, Time Out, DK Eyewitness and Lonely Planet. He’s been writing about Poland for 9+ years.