Analysis of tariffs and costs of public transport in the city of Chelyabinsk

Public transport is an important component of the quality of life of the urban population. The subject of the study in the article is the tariff systems of public transport in large cities. The purpose of the study is to compare tariffs and the cost of public transport. One of the trends characteristic of most cities is the introduction of social standards of transport services, which determine the affordability of transport as an important criterion. The authors test the hypothesis that the affordability of transport has not undergone significant changes. Thus, the formation of tariffs is an urgent task for the executive authorities of regions and cities, since it is necessary to compare them with the cost of transportation and budget capabilities. The methodological recommendations of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation were used as a methodology for assessing the affordability of transport. The results of the work show that according to the criteria of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, the affordability of transport in the Chelyabinsk agglomeration is at a high level, but the increased tariffs do not cover the cost of transportation, which necessitates subsidizing transportation. For the largest passenger carrier of Chelyabinsk, the Municipal Unitary Enterprise “Traffic Management Service”, the need for subsidies in annual terms is 375 million rubles. The results of the work can be used in the development of tariffs in large cities of Russia. A significant increase in tariffs in 2024 did not lead to a deterioration in the affordability of public transport according to regulatory indicators, but allowed to improve the quality of transport services and reduce the burden on the budget.