Wondering how to pay for metro and bus rides in Ukraine - cash only, or do cards work too?
I tried to tap my Revolut on a Kyiv metro gate - didn’t work. Ended up buying a Smart Card at the station and topping it up with cash. Buses in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk were even more old-school - paper tickets from the driver, cash only. Some cities have QR codes for tickets, but they’re local payment systems and don’t accept international cards. Honestly, Ukraine’s transport is cheap and efficient, just make sure you’ve got cash on you.
Most of Ukraine’s transport system still runs on cash or local transport cards. In Lviv, I paid cash to the driver every time - no machines, just hand him the money. Same in Odesa. Kyiv is a little more modern - the metro has plastic top-up cards and QR tickets, but even then, you can’t use your bank card directly. If you’re used to contactless in Western Europe, it’s a bit of a switch. Bring small notes and coins.
Used public transport daily while I was in Dnipro and Kyiv. Buses and minibuses (marshrutkas) all took cash - no option for card. In Kyiv, the metro does let you pay with a Kyiv Smart Card, which you preload with cash at machines. But no international card payments or Apple Pay. Definitely plan to have small bills on hand - drivers don’t always have change. Ukraine’s system is reliable but pretty analog, so cards won’t help.
In Kyiv, the metro still uses those little green tokens or rechargeable cards. You can’t tap in with a Visa or phone. Buses and trams are cash-based too - either pay the driver or a conductor walks around and sells tickets. It's old-school but cheap. I never saw any machines that take card. For day-to-day travel, I kept a small stash of coins and 20 UAH notes. If you’re asking “can you pay with card on public transport in Ukraine,” the answer’s no.