24 September 2024, Chernihiv – The municipality of St. Gallen, Switzerland, is handing over 11 public buses to the Chernihiv City Council. The vehicles are in excellent condition, as certified by specialists during an independent assessment. This is the first transfer of buses between municipalities. The goal of the project is to create a mechanism for the transfer of buses from Swiss to Ukrainian municipalities, which will facilitate decentralized inter-municipal cooperation.

The project is implemented with the financial support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine. The idea of the project came up during a study visit of the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation to Switzerland in May 2023. The trip, dedicated to the reform of high school education, was organized by the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE project, implemented by the public organization DOCCU (Ukraine) and the Zurich University of Teacher Education (Switzerland). Initially, it was focused only on school buses, but the close cooperation between the two parties led to the development of the project in the field of public transport. This became possible thanks to the initiative of the association “St. Gallen Helps Ukraine”, founded by Swiss and Ukrainian students, and the operational support of the Association “Ukraine Switzerland Bern”.

All buses will be taken by the Chernihiv City Council, which will also be responsible for the operation, maintenance of equipment and free transportation of all categories of socially vulnerable people (elderly people, children, people with disabilities, etc.). The transport company of St. Gallen also transfers all available bus spare parts that may be needed later during repairs.

Chernihiv was one of the first Ukrainian cities to suffer significant destruction due to full-scale Russian military aggression. Thus, a big part of the city's public infrastructure was destroyed, including 30% of the trolleybus network. The city's existing public transport is not enough to serve the citizens and the large number of internally displaced persons. Today, Chernihiv is home to around 230,000 residents.

Ambassador of Switzerland to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, Félix Baumann:

"We already have a long and successful history of providing support for urban mobility in Ukrainian cities, including the delivery of trams. Today, we open a new chapter, with the first delivery of buses to Ukraine. I am happy that this grassroots initiative came from students – Ukrainian and Swiss. St. Gallen and Chernihiv discovered each other on a map and established a connection. The result of this partnership is very concrete. Eleven buses will start serving passengers in Chernihiv thanks to it. It is also an inspiring example for future decentralized cooperation between Ukrainian and Swiss municipalities."

Acting Chernihiv Mayor, Oleksandr Lomako:

"On behalf of the community of Chernihiv, I thank the partners for this support and assistance. Special words of gratitude to the community of the City of St. Gallen, the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine and all those involved in today's event, thanks to whom Chernihiv received these buses. They will be on the balance of the communal trolleybus management. Now, we are considering the possibility of their use on special school routes connecting remote neighborhoods of the city with lyceums. During the hostilities in 2022, Chernihiv was significantly destroyed. Education and public transportation are among the most damaged areas. During this time, tremendous work has been done to restore access to offline education and the operation of public transport. And this is a great merit of the partners and already real friends of Chernihiv, among whom is Switzerland, its people and organizations. Thank you for supporting our children! This is a tremendous support, thanks to which, in the conditions of war, we can restore damaged educational institutions, make them high-quality, safe and accessible."

Manager of the Swiss-Ukrainian DECIDE project, Valentyna Poltorak:

"Since 2022, the Chernihiv community has been a partner of the DECIDE project. Together, we have come a long way in restoring children's access to safe education. Today, thanks to the city of St. Gallen and the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine, the Swiss public organizations St. Gallen Helps Ukraine and Ukraine Switzerland Bern, and the project team, the community of Chernihiv will receive modern buses, the route of which will pass by educational institutions. I believe that this will be the first step towards establishing cooperation with the community of St. Gallen and another step in the reconstruction of the city of Chernihiv and the improvement of infrastructure, in particular for the children of the city, who suffered a lot as a result of the war."

Head of the board of the Association Ukraine-Switzerland Bern (USB), Olena Krylova:

“We hope that with this project we have managed to develop the modus operandi that can be used in the future for similar decentralized cooperation between Swiss and Ukrainian municipalities. The potential is there, as currently many other Swiss municipalities are switching  from using diesel public transport to electro-transport, in line with the EU standards. USB as a Swiss-based association would be ready to support this process by taking over communication, coordination and logistical support related to delivering buses to Ukraine.”

Co-founder of St. Gallen Helps Ukraine, Oliver Meyer:

"We all want to help the people in Ukraine. It is great to see what can be achieved when different organizations with different strengths but with the same motivation join their efforts. The fact that we as a group of young people – Swiss and Ukrainian students – were able to organize buses from Switzerland that will benefit young people in Ukraine is a true sign of how we can all be there for each other."