The State Rail Transport Administration, or Ukrzaliznytsia, in 2012, sold more than 2.1 million train tickets via the Internet, Ukrzaliznytsia's press service reported.
"From year to year the service becomes more and more popular: in 2009 passengers bought about 83,500 tickets via the Internet, in 2010 their number was 132,500 tickets, in 2011 there were 693,900 tickets sold online. Since the launch of the service in 2008, over three million train tickets have been sold online," Ukrzaliznytsia said.
As of today, train tickets sold via the Internet account for over 3.5% of all train tickets sold as of today, Ukrzaliznytsia said, while the share of plane tickets sold online is 7-10%.
"Germany sells 42% of train tickets via the Internet, Russia 8%, Poland 5.3%, Kazakhstan 4.2%, Hungary 1.09%, the Czech Republic 0.7%, Belarus 0.5%," the source said.
Ukrzaliznytsia says that if a ticket is bought at a ticket office, a passenger pays the fare, which includes commission (UAH 12); if a ticket is booked via the Internet (for two days), a passengers pays UAH 18 for booking, and when he or she gets that booked ticket at a ticket office, the full fare, including UAH 12 commission, should be paid.
Yet, if a ticket is bought via the Internet with further printing of the ticket at a ticket office, a passenger should pay the fare, including UAH 3 commission, and UAH 7 for the online booking service.
The booking service via Ukrzaliznytsia's Web site costs UAH 17, while the booking service via the e-kvytok.com.ua self-service online portal costs UAH 18.
"The full fare of a ticket bought via the Internet is UAH 2 less compared to the one bought at a ticket office," the administration says.
As reported, on May 17, 2012, Ukrzaliznytsia introduced a new system to sell tickets via the Internet. Passengers can take the advantage of the new ticket system through electronic services channels at Ukrzaliznytsia's official Web site and choose a route, check the availability of a seat for a specific date, the fare and pay it in the online mode.
