Ukraine is planning to spend Hr 800.68 million from its national and local budgets on 2,642 new buses, including 101 special buses, in 2011 through 2015, under a national program
The bus purchases would allow the launch regular free transportation for students and teachers of pre-school education establishments and schools in rural areas.
This is envisaged by a new version of the School Bus National Targeted Program, which was approved by an instruction No. 614 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on June 9.
The program will be funded from the national and local budgets, as well as other sources.
According to the School Bus Program, a total of Hr 372.58 million will be allocated from the national budget and Hr 428.1 million from local budgets.
The average cost of one 25-seat school bus is Hr 300,000, while a special bus for transporting children with special needs costs about Hr 380,000.
The program also envisages the development of 130 special transport routes for the transportation of children and students with special needs and teachers to school and to their homes.
In addition, 25 stations for the technical servicing and repair of the buses will be created.
According to the document, some 227,124 students live far away from their school in Ukraine, as of the beginning of the 2010/2011 academic year.
Among them 95,467 students require regular free transportation.
The document also reports that during the period of implementation of the School Bus Program in 2003 through 2010, a total of 2,615 buses were purchased.
Some Hr 335.8 million from the national and local budgets were spent on these buses.
At first the program envisaged the re-equipment of 3,500 old buses by 2005, and the purchase of 3,650 new buses by 2010.
It was foreseen that over Hr 540 million would be spent on this.
