Ukraine’s state railway company, Ukrzaliznytsya, has cancelled free fares for school children during the holiday season this year.
“Ukrzaliznytsya was forced to cancel its tradition” due to a shortage in funding from the government,” reads a statement released to the public.
This won’t be a popular move. Not many children, parents or other rank-and-file Ukrainians will approve.
Free train fares, like free medical care and subsidized housing, sounds like a good idea until one considers what one gets for his money. Everything has its price, but the state is often not the best purchasing agent. The state of Ukraine’s public hospitals, trains and Zhek systems speaks for itself.
Ukrzaliznytsya said it will, however, continue to provide a 25 percent discount on fares for children from six to 14. This seems more in line with similar discounts one sees in the West. If we are talking about entrance fees to museums and zoos, one sees the benefit for society of well-informed and cultured kids. Moreover, these institutions are often the beneficiaries of grants in the West.
But trains are a different issue.
In Ukraine, not only is the rail service in definite need of investment, but the country suffers from a chronic shortage of tickets. The company noted that it transported more than 3.5 million children of this age last year. Just multiply this by the average ticket price and one can see how much money could be spent to improve the state’s railways. According to Ukrzaliznytsya, the sum comes to Hr 17 million ($3.4 million).
The government deserves credit for taking another step in the right direction, filling the budget with money that can go toward more important goals. The state can indeed play a role in supporting the economically vulnerable elements of society, but across-the-board subsidies are not the answer.Ukrainians, like other nationalities, tend to be intuitively hostile toward any encroachment on government freebees. This makes Ukrazaliznytsya’s move all the more worthy of praise.
