Life is becoming more expensive, and the ever-increasing cost of travel on public transport is becoming a tangible item of expenditure even for those families whose income can be attributed to the average. Therefore, the state and regional authorities provide for socially unprotected categories of citizens a number of benefits, including free travel.
Who is eligible for social benefits when using public transport
Categories of citizens entitled to free travel on public transport, with the exception of taxis, are stipulated in federal legislative acts and regulations of the constituent entities of the Federation. Therefore, the authorities of each region of the Russian Federation, including the cities of federal subordination - Moscow and St. Petersburg, approve the corresponding lists annually. With rare exceptions, such lists in each region are almost the same and include those who somehow suffered during the Great Patriotic War:
- veterans, disabled or underage prisoners of concentration camps;
- citizens who served in military units that did not take part in hostilities in the period from June 22, 1941 to September 3, 1945 and who have USSR medals;
- the rehabilitated and those who are recognized as victims of political repression.
- home front workers and family members of disabled people and participants in the Second World War.
The list of categories of citizens eligible for free travel should be found on the official website of the executive authorities of your region.
The privileged categories also include:
- disabled people;
- Chernobyl victims and those who were at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site during the tests;
- citizens exposed to radiation due to officially recognized accidents and discharges;
- veterans who worked in special risk units;
- Citizens with the title of "Veteran of Labor" or "Honorary Donor of Russia", other persons equated to them.
So far, there are benefits for children under 7 years of age. They can travel for free, but without providing a separate seat on all types of transport, except for water and suburban trains, where the age of beneficiaries is limited to 5 years.
Detailed information about who is the beneficiary in your constituent entity of the Federation can be obtained from the legal service of the territorial bodies of social protection of the population.
Free travel for seniors
Not all pensioners can count on free travel on public transport, since not all of them are entitled to benefit recipients by default. In some regions, a mandatory requirement is to live in this area for at least 20 years, as, for example, in St. Petersburg, in some - the presence of a social card confirming a low income. In Moscow, everyone who receives a pension and lives in the capital or the Moscow region has the right to free travel. But, naturally, not all regions of Russia can afford such support to citizens who do not have the status of beneficiaries.
