Transport that operated in Odesa during the blackout returned to Mykolaiv

Mykolaiv has received back the buses of Mykolaivpastrans, which were previously transferred to Odesa to help with transportation after the Russian attacks.

According to the Mykolaivpastrans company, these are five buses that temporarily operated in Odesa due to interruptions in the operation of electric transport after the shelling.

The transport has already returned to Mykolaiv and will soon resume running city routes.

As Intent previously reported, the city's longest tram route No. 7, North-South, which connects remote areas of the city, resumed operation on April 2. After months of downtime due to the energy crisis, electric transport is gradually returning to its routes.

As a reminder, the operation of electric transport in Odesa was effectively suspended on December 13, 2025, after one of the largest air attacks by Russian troops, which led to serious damage to the energy infrastructure. Due to the power shortage, the city was forced to switch to an alternative transportation model.

On the morning of December 31, the head of the Odesa City Administration, Serhiy Lysak, said that due to the electricity shortage, trams and trolleybuses in Odesa were not working.

In the evening of the same day, the mayors of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, and Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Senkevych, said they had sent buses to Odesa to replace the trams and trolleybuses that were not working due to the power shortage.

Earlier, Lysak said that the city was expecting 40 buses from various other cities, including 10 buses each from Lviv and Kropyvnytskyi communities, five buses each from Mykolaiv and Zhytomyr, and three buses each from Vinnytsia and Mariupol. The Bila Tserkva community also joined the support. On the night of December 31, Russians attacked the housing, logistics, and energy infrastructure of Odesa Oblast.

In early January, the number of buses that Odesa received from other communities to replace electric vehicles increased to 27. At that time, the Mariupol community was added to Mykolaiv, Lviv, and Kropyvnytskyi.

The buses that Odesa received from other Ukrainian cities to compensate for the operation of electric transport have been tested and started running in the city on January 5.

In particular, on January 5, social buses started running in Odesa, partially or completely duplicating the routes of trams and trolleybuses. The city received 25 buses from other Ukrainian communities, including Lviv, Kropyvnytskyi, and Mykolaiv. At the end of February, the fleet was replenished with eight more buses transferred from Kyiv region. Rides on these buses remained free of charge.

On March 28, trams and trolleybuses started operating in a test mode, with about 30% of the rolling stock on the lines. The restoration of route 7 is one of the key stages in the gradual return of urban electric transport to full operation.

Андрій Колісніченко