On March 17, the technical committee in Västerås decided that refugees from Ukraine should be allowed to ride the buses for free.
"It was a small act of solidarity that we could do to help the people fleeing war-torn Ukraine because of Putin's invasion war," said Anna Thunell.
According to the decision, refugees from Ukraine must be able to travel by bus for free with their passport or other valid ID document.
But the bus drivers in Västerås municipality have not yet received any green light to implement the plan.
The region wants to see an alternative ticket system
Svealandstrafiken is waiting for information from Region Västmanland, which instead thinks that the municipality should introduce an alternative ticket system.
- We think that all refugees should be treated in the same way.
They can get a ticket machine and print tickets, monthly ticket or single ticket.
We have had discussions with all municipalities in the region and only the city of Västerås has chosen this solution, says Tommy Levinsson, (S) chairman of the public transport committee.
- There are three regions that have implemented this by letting refugees from Ukraine travel for free by showing passports as far as I know.
One of them, Stockholm, has also received a JO report because it does not follow the principle of equal treatment, he says.
In the clip, Anna Thunell and Tommy Levinsson tell what is required for free bus travel for refugees to be carried out.