Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG), Lithuania’s state-owned railway company, and the country’s three largest cities will continue offering free public transport to refugees from Ukraine next year.
LTG Link, LTG’s passenger arm, said all people fleeing the war in Ukraine could use the company’s services free of charge.
“From August 1, local train services in Lithuania are available to all people fleeing the Russian war in Ukraine and arriving in Lithuania,” LTG spokeswoman Kotryna Dzikaraite said. “All passengers willing to benefit from this initiative, both Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian citizens, are asked to provide documents to confirm their identity, such as a passport or an identity card (a birth certificate for children), and a registration card issued by the Migration Department.”
In Vilnius, public transport for Ukrainians was available until the end of the year, and the city authorities extended the scheme until 2024.
The local authorities in Kaunas, Lithuania’s second-biggest city, is to consider a proposal to allow Ukrainians to use transport services with a 99% discount. Under the proposal, Ukrainians will be issued an annual ticket once they provide a registration card issued by the Migration Department or a valid residence permit issued in 2023 on humanitarian grounds.
Klaipeda also plans to extend the existing scheme next year and introduce a free ticket for Ukrainians, Rimantas Mockus, head of the local transport department, said.
Some 71,500 refugees from Ukraine have arrived in Lithuania since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February, official statistics show. Some, however, are believed to have left Lithuania. (LRT/Business World Magazine)