Head of Transport Safety Service— on digitalization, security and transport liberalization

Interview with Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety Mykyta Lahunin

Author: Dmytro Koshovy

 

Let's start with bus transportation because many citizens are interested in this topic in the summer. Even the MPs introduced a bill requiring that every intercity bus have working toilets and air conditioning systems, and granting the State Transport Safety Service the authority to inspect and fine carriers in this regard. How ready is the bus market for the peak of passenger transportation, and what are you doing to ensure that our citizens receive quality services during the war?

Thank you for your question. This is a really important topic. There is news about inadequate service every week. We regularly have preventive conversations with carriers about the importance of providing quality service. However, you should understand that the State Transport Safety Service does not have the authority to control the quality of transportation services.

 

Then please explain what your current powers are in this sector?

As a state authority, we act within the limits and manner prescribed by legislation. We check many aspects, including technical and safety aspects, as well as compliance with license conditions. Regarding sanitary standards, legislators decided at one point that the State Transport Safety Service had too much power, so they removed its control in this area.

 

The intercity and international bus transportation market grew exponentially during the war. What are the dynamics of this growth?

After the full-scale invasion began in 2022, air traffic was blocked and rail transport was restricted, so we saw a surge in bus transportation. Specifically, we issued 783 licenses for passenger bus transportation in 2022, some 823 in 2023, some 540 in 2024, and some 176 since the beginning of 2025.

 

What is this reduction related to?

First, the market is already saturated. Second, at the start of the full-scale invasion, a simplified, forced procedure for obtaining licenses was adopted. However, in 2024, this forced norm was revised to take into account European integration aspirations, resulting in a return to stricter issuance conditions. Consequently, not all carriers can obtain a license now.

 

How can a person who buys tickets directly or through bus integrators, with your help, verify the credentials of a passenger carrier? Does it have a transportation license and route? Does this company have buses, and what kind?

We are constantly working to create services that make passengers feel protected and help them understand who is transporting them. First of all, we are opening all of our databases. The Register of Issued and Canceled Licenses is posted on the Unified State Open Data Portal (middleware.dsbt.gov.ua/lc/licenses).

Secondly, we create services that help determine the extent to which a carrier is authorized to provide transportation. That is why we created the Autobus portal (autobus.gov.ua), where you can buy tickets from carriers with all the necessary documents, such as licenses and permits to provide transportation on a particular route.

Additionally, there is a convenient service for checking licenses by vehicle license plates (https://shlyah.dsbt.gov.ua/lc.html). Simply enter the bus's state license plate number to immediately receive all the information, including whether or not it has a license.

 

We discussed passengers, but what is your plan to support passenger carriers once the licensing simplification is no longer in effect?

I have headed the State Transport Safety Service for a while now, since November 2024. From the beginning, I have said that, in times of war and when the budget needs to be filled, we are the best friend of the legal carrier! The market should see us not only as a regulatory body but also as a reliable and transparent partner that monitors carrier compliance with the rules and creates equal conditions. Another important task is to make business conditions as convenient, transparent, and effective as possible. That is why we are trying to digitize our services as much as possible. Our main system is the Unified Complex of Information Systems (UCIS), which includes the carrier's electronic office. We focus on developing this tool, constantly improving it and completing new modules. In a constant dialogue with businesses, we try to get feedback to understand how else we can improve.

For example, granting criticality status involves determining which enterprises are important for the state economy. When we realized these functions would be transferred to us from the Ministry at the beginning of this year, I prioritized creating an appropriate module. Previously, all documents were submitted in paper form, a procedure maintained by many other bodies. These packages were reviewed for about 30 days. We made this process as transparent as possible. In a few clicks, the carrier submits a clear package of documents in their electronic office. We quickly process it and provide feedback in the shortest possible time. After implementing this mechanism, the number of refusals decreased because carriers understand how to submit documents quickly and transparently. We also eliminated the risk of corruption because there is no connection between an individual and a business entity.

 

Now, let's move on from bus transportation to taxis. The largest market share in this sector is now occupied by aggregators — ride-hailing services such as Uklon, Bolt, and Uber. There is also news in this area, such as the recent beating of Tonia Matviyenko. I understand this particular case is not within your authority, but what influence does the State Transport Safety Service have in this market?

Our main function is to monitor the compliance of certain categories of businesses with the legislation. In our case, these businesses are carriers. There is currently an active discussion about regulating this industry, and we are participating in it. We have already submitted proposals aimed specifically at ensuring the safety of passenger services. Thanks to our ministry, which always listens to our proposals, we are working as a team. I am confident that, together, we will achieve progress in this area.

The draft law on taxis has been under discussion for many years but has yet to be adopted. It is important to strike a balance so that this service remains available while ensuring a minimum level of quality. How would you strike this balance? Who should oversee the vehicles used by Uklon, Bolt, and Uber? Should the state perform this function, or can it delegate it to ride-hailing services?

Although we might want to take it upon ourselves, the issue is so multifaceted that it requires the participation of many stakeholders. For example, filling the budget requires regulation by fiscal authorities. Our specialized ministry forms the policy in the transport sector, so we expect a balanced product to be released as a result of such synergistic work under its leadership.

I would like to note that this problem is not unique to Ukraine. We have seen driver strikes in European countries because it's a confrontation between the old and new paradigms. However, I will reiterate that our main task and priority is passenger safety. Therefore, when drafting these rules, we will prioritize giving ourselves leverage to protect passengers.

We must have the right to verify the final driver. Currently, we issue licenses for taxi service providers. We monitor compliance with these conditions, and if a driver does not comply with the rules or state requirements, we revoke their license.

 

Currently, however, these services are largely provided in unlicensed private cars. As part of European integration, Ukraine should reinstate mandatory technical inspections for all private cars, but it has not yet done so.

This is not our issue because we monitor licensees in commercial transport to ensure they comply with legal requirements. We only monitor the entire transport flow when implementing freight transport. This could be a private individual carrying out transportation for personal use, but with excess weight that damages the road. In such cases, we fine all carriers, regardless of whether they are commercial entities.

 

The "Shliakh" system. There were many questions about its functioning.

What is the "Shliakh" system? It is a unified complex of information systems that is approved by law. It is a universe for a carrier, where their entire commercial life takes place. First, they obtain a license, and then they add vehicles there. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, it became necessary to enable drivers to travel abroad and incorporate them into the system. Together with the State Border Guard Service, we developed the "18-60" module, which enables the quick electronic transmission of information. The border guard received the information at the border and determined whether to let the driver through.

When it became necessary to develop a mechanism for volunteers to cross the border and deliver humanitarian cargo, we decided to use the existing "Shliakh" system instead of inventing a new one. We have no involvement with information about volunteers who left, some of whom did not return. Regional military administrations or specialized ministries entered this information, and our system was only used as a convenient means of transmitting it to border guards. At the end of last year, we made the decision to separate the volunteer module from our system and transfer it to the relevant ministry responsible for this area of activity.

As for the drivers who did not return, that is our area of responsibility. A corresponding commission was created to make decisions about disconnecting such carriers from the system for violating the law. This occurs when a criminal investigation is underway by the National Police, the State Border Guard Service, the SBI or other law enforcement agencies. If information is received about these systematic violators, the commission disconnects them from the system and prohibits them from carrying out commercial activities for three months.

Since the system's implementation began, more than 4 million border crossing applications have been created, and only 378 carriers have been disconnected. Therefore, it would be incorrect to talk about widespread violations or the use of our system for conscription evasion purposes.

 

What is happening now?

The dynamics are decreasing. There are no system violators. Elsewhere, there are those who want to breach the rules, but the commission acts quickly and harshly. It disconnects everyone, and others see this and do not want to play with our system.

 

You said your unified information system includes all existing commercial transport. How would you assess its condition during wartime? Some of this transport goes to the front because mobilization isn't only among people. To what extent can businesses replace the transport needed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine? There are fears that Ukraine may import old, unecological cars as if it were a landfill.

This is a rather complicated issue. At the beginning of the war, the priority was to transport as much as possible as quickly as possible using all available transportation, including outdated KAMAZs and other trucks.

As with the simplified licensing of bus transportation, this function was fulfilled. The market needs to return to stricter standards. This includes standards regarding car classes and environmental standards. After these strict standards were introduced, the market began to normalize, and a very positive trend emerged.

 

To what extent does Ukraine, with its current commercial vehicle fleet, meet European integration requirements?

This is a question of our service's competitiveness and quality. If we do not establish order and penalize illegal carriers who steal passengers from legal carriers, it will be very difficult for the latter to develop. In order to develop, it is necessary to understand the financial model, future passenger flow, and gross financial profit. Based on this, you can then go into leasing to update your car fleet.

If our service is effective, then fair competition for passengers and cargo begins at the expense of transportation quality. In other words, carriers understand that the better their vehicles are, the more customers they will attract.

For example, we received a lot of criticism for not fighting the so-called gray carriers, who operate without permits for regular transportation and steal passengers from legal carriers. We recently changed the passenger transportation rules, which will take effect in September of this year, and developed an electronic module. From now on, an irregular carrier may carry passengers twice a week with one vehicle on one route. If they want to do more, they must get permission. The system will not allow them to enter transportation information more times than is permitted by law. If he does not enter this trip and carries passengers, he is automatically considered a violator because he did not declare his intention to carry passengers on this route.

 

Regarding the level playing field: There were complaints from European competitors, primarily Polish ones, about insufficient tachograph control of drivers. You announced the introduction of the latest smart tachograph technology, as well as the creation of a passenger transportation dispatching system. Could you tell us more about these initiatives? When will they be implemented?

Controlling the work and rest schedules of drivers is one of the most important tasks of our service because, together with the other violations we discussed with you—overloading, unauthorized trips, etc.—these violations are especially dangerous. For example, if a bus carries 50 passengers and the driver falls asleep, we all understand the terrible consequences this will lead to. Or if the driver of a 40-tonne truck falls asleep and starts knocking down all the other cars. Implementing a digital innovation, smart tachograph technology, will allow us to strengthen control without the human factor.

The smart tachograph system reads, analyzes, and records violations related to work and rest periods. The remote control module can be installed on the frame of the WIM complex, an inspector's vehicle, or another road structure. It will automatically read information without stopping the car. This ensures consistency, reduces the human factor, and decreases corruption risks. Thanks to our ministry, a regulatory framework was quickly developed that will allow for the issuance of smart tachograph cards for drivers, inspectors, carrier companies, and tachograph service points that install, adapt, maintain, and calibrate tachographs. Therefore, it is planned that this system will be operational on our roads very soon.

 

Is there any phased implementation?

No, they will work immediately.

 

How ready is the market for this, technically speaking?

This will apply to new vehicles, all of which are equipped with the latest model. This was a significant drawback because carriers who purchased these vehicles did not have the opportunity to verify and adapt smart tachographs in Ukraine. They had to travel to a European country to verify the smart tachograph, and only then could they transport goods within the territory of AETR member states (European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles Engaged in International Road Transport). Now, it will be possible to do this in Ukraine.

 

Will this also apply to urban transport?

The norm only applies to routes over 50 km, so it does not apply to urban transport.

 

So, as for urban transport, is this already the area of ​​responsibility of the city government?

Yes, the city government concludes contracts for transportation.

 

In connection with the extension of transport liberalization with the EU for another year, don't you miss the times when the State Transport Safety Service issued permits to carriers?

On the contrary, we breathed a sigh of relief when these permits were removed in 2022. Because there were only a few of them, intense battles over them took place, which led to repeated corruption scandals within the State Transport Safety Service. Both we and our carriers were relieved.

 

Are there any chances of maintaining transport liberalization with the EU in the future?

In April of this year, an important European integration law, No. 4560, was adopted. I would like to thank our specialized transport committee for enabling this to happen quickly and without delay.

The law will take effect a year after its adoption, so I would like to highlight some of its key innovations. First, enterprises must have a manager-administrator.

Second, enterprises must demonstrate financial capacity to function in the transportation market; they must provide either a financial guarantee or insurance. This European practice will now be extended to our market and allow us to improve service quality.

Third, there is the issue of business reputation: the company should avoid court decisions and heavy penalties.

I urge market participants to prepare for the implementation of these norms so they are ready within a year

Regarding the extension of transport liberalization, I would like to mention that our delegation has recently returned from Brussels, where legislation in our field was reviewed. We received a very positive evaluation. Therefore, I believe we have a good chance of successfully closing this case and transitioning to permanent transport liberalization with the EU.

 

Checking transport loads. Most of the accusations against the State Transport Safety Service were related to the work of inspectors in this area. Low salaries and large fines create corruption risks, which would be minimized by WIM complexes, or automatic fixation systems. While I am not an expert in your field, this story reminded me of the repeated attempts to introduce automatic control scanners at customs. What is the current situation with WIM complexes? What are the plans for expanding their network?

The logic behind controlling congestion is very complex. To defeat congestion in Kyiv and Kyiv region, we brought in 25 crews and 50 inspectors from all over the country. We worked day and night and on weekends. Now, we can confidently say that we have defeated congestion in Kyiv and the region. However, this required extraordinary efforts, exposing other areas of work, we weakened control over passenger transport, weakened some regions, so this cannot be called a systemic struggle.

To systematically overcome congestion without human factor, we need to install an automatic fixation complex. I was involved in the inception of this idea when we introduced the system four years ago. At the time, the skeptics said we would never succeed and that it was utopian. Most countries do not use automatic fixation as a mechanism for fining violators. Instead, most countries use WIM frames for preliminary selection to help inspectors pull out cars with signs of violations for additional checks on the scales and to impose fines. Despite the corruption risks inherent in our service and the lack of sufficient personnel, we implemented this system immediately for issuing fines. Despite the skepticism over the years, the system has proven to be effective. There are indeed some imperfections in its work, but we supplement and upgrade it every year. We are closing loopholes that allow drivers to detour.

The main drawback of WIM complexes is their insufficient presence on the roads. We understand that WIM complexes cannot be a priority in times of war, so we have decided to reconsider our approach to this issue. Together with our ministry, we want to include other stakeholders in this process, such as local road's balance holders. To this end, we have drafted a bill amending the Budget Code that would allow 35% of fines generated by WIM complexes to remain in community budgets.

 

Will the WIM complex be on its balance sheet?

There cannot be any WIM complexes in the State Transport Safety Service because they are an integral part of the roadway as an engineering structure. Only the road's balance holder can install a WIM complex. If the balance holder is a city community, then only that community can install a WIM complex.

This draft law is currently under discussion with all relevant central executive authorities. We are waiting for proposals and comments and will try to adopt the law as soon as possible to encourage local authorities to install these complexes. This will allow us to quickly and effectively expand the WIM network and establish an effective system of overload protection devices.

Today, the approximate cost of a two-lane WIM complex is about UAH 18 million, which is not an unbearable burden for most communities. Some WIM complexes installed in places where there is a lot of congestion can pay for themselves in six months. We are not suggesting that this become a source of revenue, but with the effective operation of the WIM complex, violators will understand that they should not violate the law. First, communities will recoup funds for developing and maintaining this system. Then, they will save on road maintenance.

 

How many WIM complexes are currently operating in Ukraine and what number do you see as optimal?

The more, the better. Currently, 57 WIM complexes are connected to the State Transport Safety Service. There are more, but they may not be operational. According to the initial plan developed in 2020, there should be about 250 units. These are WIM complexes on the road, as well as a new one with automatic fixation, called the Low-Speed WIM. These sites have more accurate measuring equipment and do not have such a high throughput. However, they need to be placed at cargo unloading/loading sites, such as the entrance to a port. If the WIM complex is on the highway, the truck can somehow bypass the villages, but then at the entrance to the port it will still pass through this Low-Speed ​​WIM with high measurement accuracy.

 

How many fines do these 57 WIM complexes now bring compared to all other fines imposed by inspectors?

Thanks to WIM fines, the state budget has been replenished by more than UAH 65 million in six months. For comparison, inspectors imposed sanctions of more than UAH 283 million during roadside inspections over the same period. It should be noted that these are imposed sanctions. In the case of WIM fines, the funds have already been collected from violators.

Regarding inspectors. In wartime, one can hardly expect a significant increase in their salaries, which are less than one fine. How, then, can we combat corruption risks?

The average salary of our inspector is now UAH 22,000-23,000. In my opinion, this is a very low salary for an inspector to stand on the highway all day, whether it's minus 10 degrees or plus 40 degrees. I am trying to solve this issue and raise the salary, although it will be difficult to do so during the war. Some people work for us because they are holding on to their jobs, and some hope for a salary increase after the economic situation improves.

When I came to the service, I thought of a model like the enforcement service, where the enforcer receives a portion of the collected fine. However, this is a double-edged sword because tomorrow, the inspector could make the business's life difficult in order to legally earn income for himself. Therefore, the draft law on WIM complexes, which I mentioned above, directs 35% of the fine amounts to road balance holders. It also contains a provision for deducting 15% to develop our service and allocating 50% to the general state budget.

We understand that some inspectors will try to obtain illegal superprofits. We are constantly fighting this. First, we cooperate with law enforcement agencies to make it clear that no one is above the law and that we will not tolerate corruption within the service. We are working very actively on this issue. Inspectors already understand that there is no need to bring money to Kyiv.

We are making the road control process as transparent as possible. This includes using body cameras and introducing the e-inspector system, which is a unified ecosystem that tracks our inspectors' actions. We tested this system last year, and on May 18 of this year, changes took effect that allow us to issue acts and resolutions electronically. The system stores all information about inspections carried out on the road. An inspector will no longer be able to claim that he stopped a certain car and that everything was fine, because each inspector action is confirmed on the tablet and immediately sent to the central office's cloud storage, where our internal security service can check the information at any time.

The purpose of e-inspector is also convenience for business. This is the ability to create a single database and integrate it with all other state registers. We want to achieve a situation where a driver does not need to carry a stack of papers in the glove compartment and worry about whether he has left something at home. If one state body has issued a permit or other document, then another state body, that is, we, should be able to check it automatically without involving the driver.

 

The transport industry has historically been considered more masculine. But in wartime, everything changes. Do you actively recruit women, including inspectors?

We raise this issue. We have female inspectors. I gathered them and asked how difficult it is for them to work on the road in the heat and communicate with drivers. We collected positive statistics showing that female inspectors perform even better than men. First, they are more principled about issuing fines. Second, drivers enjoy communicating with them.

At the beginning of this year, we even started negotiations with certain international organizations on the introduction of separate selection and training of female inspectors. But after the reduction of funding for many American programs, this issue was also forced to be postponed, although we still invite girls to come to work with us.

Another direction is work with veterans, with those who are returning. We have about 70 inspectors currently fighting on the front.

 

How many inspectors are currently working on the roads?

There are approximately 300 directly on the roads. However, we must understand what our inspector does in the regional department. He monitors urban electric transport, railway transport, freight transport, and passenger transport. He visits shops, car services, and car showrooms to carry out market surveillance. We check the safety and quality of the spare parts sold in the country. All of this must be done by one inspector. Increasing the staff would allow us to increase the efficiency of the service several times over.

 

In which areas are people lacking the most?

There is a little lacking everywhere. We conduct scheduled and unscheduled inspections; we don't just stand on the road. A group of our inspectors visits enterprises and Ukrzaliznytsia to analyze their compliance with license conditions. This work is very difficult and painstaking, requiring a lot of effort and time.

That is why, if we can build WIM complexes and replace our inspectors with computers that don't take bribes, that would be great. The same goes for smart tachograph. Therefore, our main emphasis is on maximizing the digitalization of all possible functions.

 

In addition to the inspectors, accusations were made against you regarding the car, other property, and alleged connections to a business where a co-owner is Russian.

I can easily answer the questions that some media outlets are now asking about my wealth or my wife's wealth. All of our income and property are declared. As a category "A" civil servant, I enter everything into the declaration and publish it. You can check everything. Although we expected it sooner or later because we are building a transparent new service and rules of the game in the market, destroying many schemes, I was surprised it took so long. After all, they didn't find this car under the carpet in my garage, but rather took the information I entered. This car belongs to my wife, Natalia Lahunina, whom I married six months ago.

She is a very successful businesswoman whose business has been around for 11 years. She is a designer, so her business has nothing to do with our service. Her brand, 28 MAGGIO, is well-known throughout the country. It seems like every third girl has one of her dresses in her closet. She is a self-made woman who earned her own money, including for this car. She bought it partly on credit and partly with the proceeds from the sale of a Range Rover she bought in 2020.

There were also some ridiculous accusations about my collaboration with my father in the Russian Federation. Unfortunately, my father is no longer alive, and my wife has no living parents either. Therefore, there is no one to register the business or other property with. This makes these accusations untenable.

So I have answers to all the questions, I have documents for all my property. I am not afraid of these accusations. I was prepared for this and I understand that this may continue. We will not stop and will continue to break these "black" markets. If there is any evidence, then law enforcement agencies should deal with it.

And finally, in your opinion, what should the State Transport Safety Service become in two, three, or five years?

Digital. Independent. With high-quality and business-oriented service. Without traces of corruption and scandals. With clear processes, analytics, a team that works not on resolutions — but on order. So that trust in the service ceases to be an exception and becomes the rule.

We have already started these processes — and neither the team, nor time, nor society will allow us to return everything "as it was."