Greece issues 100 non-regular bus service permits to Ukraine

MOSCOW. June 5 (Interfax) - Ukraine will receive 100 permits from Greece to operate non-regular passenger bus services, and these permits will become available to carriers next week, Ukrainian Deputy Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development Minister Sergei Derkach said.

"We have agreed with Greece on permitting non-regular transport services. There are now 100 permits for this type of passenger transportation. We met with Greek colleagues at the International Transport Forum in Leipzig two weeks ago. And the permits are already on their way to Ukraine," Ukrainian media outlets quoted Derkach as saying on social media.

Ukrainian carriers will be able to receive them at permit issuance centers of Ukraine's Transport Safety Service the following week, he said.

No such permits were provided last year, and Ukrainian businesses either had to hire foreign carriers to transport passengers to their points of destination in Greece or transfer passengers to buses of other carriers, for example in Bulgaria, Derkach said.

"From now on, our carriers will have the opportunity to operate direct non-regular services by request," he said, pledging to continue the work on increasing the number of such permits.