KYIV. Feb 9 (Interfax) - About 100 people are holding a picket in front of the Kyiv mayor's office on Monday to protest a rise in public transportation fares.
Several young men attempted to torch tires near the building, but the picketers were detained and the fire was quickly put out.
About 50 protestors, who remained at the scene, tried to break into the building, but the attempt was subdued by a reinforced unit of security guards.
The picket has brought together representatives of the public organizations "Autonomous Nationalists," and "Samozakhist" (Self-Defense), who carried their respective organizations' insignia. They answered in the negative when asked by an Interfax correspondent whether they had been involved in torching the tires, saying that their sole goal was to protest higher transportation fares.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko explained the decision to raise public transportation fares for economic reasons, according to the Kyiv state administration's press service.
The new tariffs took effect on Saturday, February 7, earlier reports said.
A ride on a bus, tram, or trolleybus, or by cable railway costs 3 hryvni. A single-ride ticket for a commuter train costs 4 hryvni and a ride by metro (without using a plastic card) 4 hryvni.
The hrivnya's official exchange rate, set by the National Bank, is 24.96/$1 as of February 9.