At the end of May, ERR reported that the city of Tallinn would close the county bus layover area at Balti Station in October, relocating the final stops of county routes to the city center.

In response, Minister of Regional Affairs Hendrik Johannes Terras (Eesti 200) announced plans to halt state support for expanding Tallinn's transit network.

On Thursday, the board of the North Estonia Public Transport Center — now called Iili — met and made final decisions regarding the county bus routes stopping at Balti Station.

Järvan told ERR the board reached the agreement as initially planned.

"Given that the layover area at Balti Station is being removed to make room for children's sports infrastructure, the number of lines departing from Balti Jaam will also be reduced. While there are currently about 400 departures per day, starting August 1 that will be reduced to around 250. This will eliminate several near-empty or half-empty loops around the Old Town," he said.

The deputy mayor added that this will allow the transport center to allocate more resources toward improving public transport coverage in the counties.

Järvan emphasized that the city has never had a plan to close the entire mobility hub. However, it has been known for years that the bus parking area would be removed.

"As a result, the number of departures will also be reduced, but there has never been a plan to reduce it to zero," he said. "If the question is which lines will continue to depart from there, the decision will certainly depend on where there are more users at a given time and what the data shows."

The official added that the North Estonia Public Transport Center already largely knows which lines will continue to stop at the station, and the decision will be based on ridership numbers. More detailed information will be provided to municipalities and passengers in the near future.

Last week, Terras told ERR that the city's move undermines the core goal of the national public transport reform, which is to create a unified and smoothly functioning transport network.

Whether the decision will prompt Terras to reconsider and reinstate state support for expanding Tallinn's transit network, Järvan could not say. He noted that the minister misunderstood the situation from the beginning.

"Since he had not discussed it with us beforehand, he issued a misleading press release. Even more strangely, based on his emotions, he decided to threaten residents of Viimsi, Maardu, Rae, Saue, and Harku municipalities with reduced public transport service for reasons that remain unclear to all parties involved," the deputy mayor said.

Järvan plans to send an official letter to Terras requesting that the minister retract his threats to withhold support funding for expanding the city's transit network.

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