Volodymyr Kreidenko, Ukrainian MP, deputy chairman of the Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, and Chair of the cross-party parliamentary group ‘Dobrobat – Volunteer Construction Battalion’
Illegal passenger transportation in Ukraine has existed in a strange limbo for years. Passengers, legal carriers, local authorities, the police, and regulatory bodies were all well aware of it. Everyone saw the minibuses picking up people near train stations, markets, metro stations, hospitals, or simply on the roadside. Yet the problem itself remained virtually invisible to the state system. For a passenger, such a trip might seem cheaper or more convenient. However, behind this convenience, there is often no proper permit, no official route, no inspection of the vehicle's technical condition, no registered driver, no taxes paid, and no clear liability in the event of an accident. The passenger is effectively buying an unknown level of risk rather than a transport service. For a legal carrier, the situation looks even more absurd. They go through competitive bidding, obtain permits, pay taxes, maintain vehicles, adhere to schedules, and remain accountable to passengers. Operating right beside them is someone who gains a competitive advantage precisely because they do not follow the rules. For years, the state demanded discipline from legal businesses while failing to ensure a level playing field for everyone. That is why, during the Question Time to the Government, I asked a simple question: when will the fight against illegal transportation stop being mere talk and become a systemic state policy?
That question set the process in motion. On June 4, 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers formalized Protocol No. 68, deciding to carry out joint state control measures in the field of passenger road transport. Following this, I submitted official parliamentary inquiries to the regions to understand what actually transpired on the roads, rather than just in government protocols. The first responses revealed two fundamentally important points. First, the problem is far more extensive than it might appear from Kyiv. Second, when state bodies genuinely unite in joint operation, results follow very quickly.
The Chernihiv region provided one of the most revealing responses. Following comprehensive field operations, patrol police inspectors drew up 386 reports totaling 142.12 thousand UAH, National Police units issued 403 reports totaling 212.77 thousand UAH, and Ukrtransbezpeka issued 321 field violation acts amounting to over 4.59 million UAH. But the monetary amounts are not the only thing that matters. The regional authorities reported the shutdown of illegal carrier operations on the Chernihiv–Ripky, Chernihiv–Horodnya, Chernihiv–Novhorod-Siverskyi, and Chernihiv–Koriukivka routes. In other words, enforcement moved beyond offices and onto specific routes where the shadow market had been flourishing for years. We saw a similar tangible approach in the Kirovohrad region: joint group efforts and raid inspections resulted in 10 administrative reports under Article 164 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (totaling 170 thousand UAH) and 49 acts under Article 60 of the Law of Ukraine "On Motor Transport" (totaling 833 thousand UAH). Three additional cases were submitted to court. The region also identified specific problematic routes: Holovanivsk–Odesa, Haivoron–Kyiv, Zhovti Vody–Kyiv, and Kryvyi Rih–Kyiv. This marks an important shift in approach. Enforcement must not happen randomly or just for attractive statistics; it must target established schemes, high passenger flows, and systemic rule violations.
The Khmelnytskyi region highlighted another dimension of the problem. During the first half of 2026, 727 vehicles were inspected in the region, resulting in 207 acts. Nine of these involved transportation without proper permits. Twenty-three rulings were issued against illegal carriers, totaling 374.51 thousand UAH. Patrol police issued nine reports, the National Police issued 15, and the tax service issued five. At first glance, this looks like active work. However, the core reason for collecting and analyzing these responses lies in what happened next: all administrative filings under Article 164 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses were dismissed during court proceedings, and not a single individual was held administratively liable. This is the exact diagnosis of the current system. One can conduct a raid, stop a vehicle, spend the working hours of police and inspectors, draft a report, and send the case to court. But if the case falls apart at the final stage, the illegal carrier receives a clear signal: there is no real risk, and they can continue operating. The fight against the shadow market must not end with the number of reports drawn up; it must end with inevitable accountability.
The Zakarpattia region provided not only statistics but also a ready-made agenda for lawmakers. Since the beginning of 2026, Ukrtransbezpeka has issued 35 reports regarding illegal passenger transportation, while the National Police issued 22. Courts examined 15 cases and imposed administrative penalties in eight of them. Patrol police issued 745 violation records regarding passenger and cargo transport legislation. Control operations took place near bus stations in Khust, Uzhhorod, Mukachevo, Vynohradiv, and Berehove, as well as at popular passenger departure points and on state and local roads. The regional authorities proposed defining the terms "illegal carrier" and "illegal transportation" in law, differentiating responsibility between legal and illegal market players, increasing penalties, and providing for the potential impoundment or operational suspension of vehicles in cases specified by law. This is the right logic. A legal carrier who commits a paperwork infraction should not face the exact same penalty as an individual who systematically operates commercial transport entirely outside the legal framework. These are different behavioral models with varying levels of public harm, requiring distinct levels of liability.
In the Sumy region, six compliance checks regarding carriers' contract terms have been conducted since the start of the year. In Konotop, one carrier was brought to justice for operating without state business registration. Authorities also identified three carriers operating without permits on irregular routes and four on urban and suburban routes. In June and early July alone, Ukrtransbezpeka imposed fines totaling 455.6 thousand UAH. Meanwhile, the Zaporizhzhia region highlighted another loophole that the state can no longer ignore. Across five joint operations, they identified four carriers operating without permits and issued eight acts. The region suggested establishing liability not only for drivers and carriers, but also for owners of digital platforms through which tickets for illegal trips are sold. Today, a shadow carrier is rarely just a lone driver with a sign on the windshield. It is often a complete digital chain: social media advertising, online booking, ticket sales, payment processing, intermediaries, dispatchers, and systematic routes formally mislabeled as "charter services". If the state only inspects the physical vehicle on the road without targeting the organizer, seller, and financial trail, it is fighting the last link in the chain rather than the system itself.
In the Cherkasy region, three joint operations were conducted as of July 6, leading to the identification of two illegal carriers and two reports under Part 1 of Article 164 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, which were sent to court. The region also pin-pointed specific problem locations in Cherkasy: near the "Zoopark" bus stop, the Cherkasy AS-1 bus station, and the "Vokzaly" stop. Figures vary across regions—some report hundreds of cases and millions of hryvnias, while others report initial inspections. Taken together, however, they demonstrate that illegal transportation is not an isolated exception; it is a nationwide shadow market exploiting gaps between transport, administrative, tax, and labor laws. Therefore, the next step must not be another temporary raid campaign, but a systemic structural reform.
First and foremost, Ukraine needs a unified reporting format for its regions. Rather than vague wording about "work conducted," we need clear metrics: the number of inspected vehicles, identified unpermitted carriers, drafted reports and acts, cases referred to court, court rulings issued, and fines actually collected. Without this full chain, it is impossible to evaluate whether enforcement is working. Legally defining what constitutes illegal passenger transportation and an illegal carrier is essential to separate this activity from minor infractions committed by legal businesses. Repeat and systematic illegal operations must trigger sanctions that genuinely halt business activity, rather than penalties that are simply absorbed as a cost of doing business. Online platforms, brokers, and organizers who sell tickets or facilitate trips without verifying carrier documentation require dedicated regulatory oversight. Furthermore, automated data exchange must be established between transport authorities, police, tax services, public registries, and courts. The state cannot catch up to a digital shadow market using paper-based inquiries.
A single question during Question Time to the Government could not solve a problem built up over years, but it forced the system into motion. The initial inspections revealed key routes, the true scale of the issue, loopholes in enforcement, and actionable solutions from the ground up. Now it is critical to maintain this momentum. Passengers must know who is carrying them and who is responsible for their safety. Legal businesses need assurance that complying with the law does not put them at a competitive disadvantage. And those systematically profiting outside the rules must know that accountability will be inevitable, not formal. The shadow market in passenger transport has been convenient and virtually unpunished for far too long. The first steps have been taken; the next step belongs to Parliament—to turn regional inspection findings into legislative solutions that follow every case through from a stopped vehicle on the road to real punishment.
