Vladimir Putin approved a list of instructions following the State Council Presidium meeting on the development of public transport, held in Ulan-Ude on August 10, 2026.
The Government has been instructed to take steps to expand subsidies to the regions for the development of public transport infrastructure. It has also been tasked with submitting proposals to restore public transport services in the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.
The Government, in cooperation with relevant State Council commissions, has been instructed to take additional measures to address staff shortages in the public transport sector.
Instructions to the Government, jointly with the State Council Commission on Effective Transport System, concern, in particular, the development of an integrated indicator for assessing the quality of public transport services across the regions of the Russian Federation. The instructions also provide for establishing the legal status of a guaranteeing carrier responsible for regional passenger transport, with a view to ensuring uninterrupted services and facilitating long-term planning for vehicle procurement. In addition, pilot projects are to be launched in a number of regions to introduce on-demand passenger transport services for residents of sparsely populated or remote areas and to test unmanned public transport, involving special military operation veterans with disabilities as operators of unmanned vehicles.
Another instruction requires the Government to approve a roadmap for introducing artificial intelligence into passenger transport management by December 1, 2026.
In addition, the Government, in cooperation with the State Council Commission on Effective Transport System and the State Council Commission on Data Economy, as well as regional executive authorities, has been instructed to take measures to improve the transparency of payments for passenger transport services and promote cashless payments. It has also been tasked with considering the use of the unified biometric system and the MAX platform for cashless payments on public transport.