When planning a trip by bus, train or ferry in Estonia, travelers have to navigate several different ticket sales platforms — and most don't allow for purchasing tickets far in advance. The Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture says they're working on improving the situation.

In many countries, you can buy train, ferry and bus tickets months in advance. For instance, Germany's Deutsche Bahn allows passengers to book high-speed train tickets up to 12 months ahead, and tickets are cheaper when bought well in advance. In Estonia, however, this is not the case.

The Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture is working on modernizing the Public Transport Act. In feedback on the legislative intent for the bill, Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo (Reform) highlighted two major shortcomings in Estonia's public transport system: the limited period for buying tickets in advance, and the absence of a unified ticketing system.

Keldo says this setup fails to meet the needs of either local or international travelers.

"To further encourage taking advantage of the opportunities public transport provides for domestic travel within Estonia, it should be possible to book tickets for at least domestic ferry and rail connections a minimum of six months in advance," Keldo said. "And it should be possible to book all your tickets for the entire journey in one place — even if that trip involves multiple modes of transport."

With Estonia's current patchwork of transport systems, tourists and less experienced riders can quickly find themselves overwhelmed by the range of websites and booking options turned up by a simple online search.

The country's largest bus ticketing platform, Tpilet, covers most domestic routes in Estonia. However, tickets can also be booked directly through long-distance carriers like Lux Express and Flixbus, and long-distance bus tickets are also available via Ridango at kaugliinid.pilet.ee. Local bus fares can be paid for online at pilet.ee for Tallinn and Harju County, and tartu.pilet.ee for Tartu.

Train and ferry tickets are sold on separate platforms, and the advance booking windows vary significantly. For example, the TS Laevad site praamid.ee currently allows ferry tickets to be booked through January 4, 2026. In contrast, passenger rail operator Elron only offers tickets up to one week in advance.

For bus travel, advance purchase periods depend on the operator, with Flixbus currently offering bookings through the end of December, Tpilet up to three months in advance and Lux Express all the way through mid-December.

Integrated tickets, journey planner in the works

Hannes Luts, an adviser at the Public Transport Department of the Ministry of Regional Affairs, told ERR that the main obstacle to longer-term advance ticket sales is large-scale and time-sensitive rail construction work in Estonia, where service disruptions are often scheduled with very little notice.

"There are plans to address this by introducing stricter requirements for contractors, but for now, selling tickets a full six months in advance probably isn't realistic," Luts acknowledged. "Still, the goal is definitely to gradually extend the advance booking window."

He noted that a unified ticketing system is in the works, with two main projects already underway. One is the Tallinn–Harju integrated ticket, which would involve Elron, the North Estonia Public Transport Center (PEÜTK) and the City of Tallinn and introduce a single fare applied across all modes of transport.

The second initiative, known as Mobility as a Service (MaaS), focuses on developing an integrated journey planner, ticketing platform and user interface to connect all mobility providers across Estonia. The first phase will integrate public transport systems in Tallinn and Tartu with state-funded bus and rail services. The goal is to later expand the system to include other options, such as commercial bus lines, micromobility and taxi services.

As a result, Luts highlighted, passengers will be able to plan and book an entire journey in one place.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook, Bluesky and X and never miss an update!