Prague public transit company in cooperation with the Capital city of Prague and People in Need, has donated 20 trams and 2 buses to Ukraine

Prague Public Transit Company is donating 5 T3SUCS trams and 15 T6A5 trams, which ceased operation in June last year; in addition, it will donate one Karosa B951 bus and one Irisbus Citelis 18M articulated bus to the Kharkiv City Transport Company. The donation of the vehicles was facilitated by Prague City Hall. Ihor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkiv, approached the Mayor's Office of the City of Prague with a request for assistance. The donation of the vehicles will take place through the non-governmental organisation People in Need, which is a major provider and distributor of humanitarian aid in Ukraine, as well as aid for the reconstruction of the war-stricken country. Therefore, People in Need is cooperating in the administrative arrangements for the event, helping to monitor the situation in Ukraine and overseeing the handover of the vehicles in Kharkiv. In addition to donating the vehicles, whose current book value is just under CZK 7 million (280.000 EUR), Prague Public Transit Company will also cover the costs of loading them. The recipient, the Kharkiv City Transport Company, will take care of the trucking and all customs formalities.

"The vehicles that no longer serve passengers in Prague will find vital use elsewhere. In Ukraine, many trams and buses were destroyed in the invasion. We support the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities so that war refugees can return to their homes as soon as possible," said Zdeněk Hřib, Mayor of Prague. 

The first trams will arrive in Ukraine in the coming weeks

"We have been cooperating with the cities affected by the war for a long time, and after Mariupol, now it's Kharkiv’s turn. We are also fulfilling the resolution of the Prague City Council. The first trams will go to Ukraine in the next few weeks. It will depend mainly on the security situation in the country," said Adam Scheinherr, Deputy Mayor of the capital city of Prague. Prague's Deputy Mayor for Transport and Chairman of the Prague Public Transit Company Supervisory Board.

"On the day of Ukraine's invasion by Russia, i.e. on 24 February 2022, the City Council of the Capital City of Prague met to discuss the possibility of the Russian government's attack on Ukraine. The City Council of Prague agreed on a resolution to help its sister transport companies in Ukraine by donating vehicles that Prague Public Transit Company no longer needed for its operations. Primarily these were the T3SUCS and T6A5 trams, which our partners in Ukraine know well because in previous years we have sold vehicles of these types here. They served well and are still in public transport in some places, e.g. in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and other cities. At the beginning of the war, the Russian aggressors destroyed a number of trams in Kharkiv, Mariupol and other cities. Therefore, to help rebuild and provide public transport in the war-affected cities, we have offered MHMP, as the main coordinator of humanitarian aid for Prague and the city's companies, a list of operational Prague Public Transit Company vehicles that we could donate to Ukraine in due course. I hope that the time will come, and I firmly believe that all the vehicles will be transported to both Ukrainian cities without any damage and will help to restore public transport there," said Petr Witowski, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Prague Public Transit Company, adding: "In the second half of last year, Ukrainian partners expressed interest in buying part of our T6A5 trams. Unfortunately, the invasion and the war conflict completely stopped the preparation for this event. Therefore, I am glad that we can finally donate these trams, supplemented by other cars, to our sister transport company in Kharkiv."

"This whole event is an example of good cooperation between the civil and public sectors, which has a deep tradition in People in Need since the early days of our organisation in the 1990s. We are pleased to help facilitate this donation and help spread the good name of our country, which has shown unprecedented solidarity with embattled Ukraine over the past seven months. It is great that people in the Czech Republic, despite the energy crisis and the worsening economic situation, are not indifferent to what is happening just a few kilometres east of our border," concluded Jana Toužimská, deputy regional director for the Eastern Partnership and the Balkans at People in Need.

List of trams and buses donated by Prague Public Transit Company to Ukraine:

• T3SUCS trams - 5 vehicles in total
• Trams T6A5 - 15 vehicles in total
• Buses - 2 vehicles in total; a Karosa B951 city bus and an Irisbus Citelis 18M articulated city bus