Made in Ukraine: Communities have purchased 110 Ukrainian-made school buses since the start of the year
Communities are continuing to upgrade their school bus fleets using government subsidies. Since the beginning of the year, 110 new buses for transporting pupils have been purchased through the Prozorro Market electronic catalogue. Some of these vehicles were acquired to replace those destroyed due to the war.
“The School Bus programme serves a social purpose while also supporting economic development. For communities, it’s an opportunity to modernise their school bus fleets, particularly in regions where transport has been lost due to the war. For our industry, it means new orders, stable operations for businesses, and jobs for people. In 2025, the Government allocated UAH 1.6 billion for the programme. The buses are manufactured in Ukraine at factories in Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Lutsk, and Zaporizhzhia, with over 200 Ukrainian companies involved in the production chain. This is a great example of how localisation policies help channel public investment into developing Ukrainian manufacturing, creating jobs, and boosting the budget,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy.
The Ivano-Frankivsk region has led in the number of purchases this year, acquiring 40 buses. The region has already used over 85% of the subsidy allocated by the Government for 2025.
New buses will also be delivered to:
- Lviv region — 30 buses
- Mykolaiv region — 12 buses
- Volyn region — 12 buses
- Khmelnytskyi region — 10 buses
- Kirovohrad region — 5 buses
- Cherkasy region — 1 bus
Under the programme’s terms, the state covers 70 to 95% of the buses’ cost, with the remainder funded by local budgets. In total, around 600 buses are planned to be purchased this year.
The Government’s subsidy for school buses aims to make education accessible to all pupils. Funds are primarily directed to regions where many children need transport to schools but currently lack this option.
“As part of the high school reform, school buses will be a key tool to ensure pupils can travel to lyceums. In frontline regions, they also enable the transport of children to schools equipped with shelters. Therefore, allocating subsidies for buses and securing additional funding is a top priority for the Government,” said Nadiia Kuzmychova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science.
The programme has been running for three consecutive years. Over this period, communities have purchased more than 1,000 school buses through Prozorro Market, costing over UAH 3 billion. The electronic catalogue is administered by the state institution “Professional Procurement”, which is responsible for standardising technical requirements for goods and vetting suppliers.
“The School Bus programme addresses a critical issue: how to make the journey to school safe and convenient for children. Over this time, more than a thousand buses have been purchased through Prozorro Market. This means tens of thousands of children now travel to school in comfortable conditions every day. Moreover, the state supports domestic manufacturers, as the buses are made here in Ukraine,” noted Yevhen Yakubovskyi, Director of the “Professional Procurement” state institution.
Background
Since 2024, the School Bus programme has been implemented through financial cooperation between the European Union and Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility instrument.
The programme is coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Science in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy through Prozorro Market. It forms part of the national Made in Ukraine policy initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.