The government approved a request from the minister of regional affairs and agriculture during budget talks to allocate an additional €54 million for public transport in next year's state budget.

"At the government level, we agreed that €54.74 million will be added to the baseline funding to ensure stable and accessible public transport for people across Estonia," Minister Hendrik Terras (Eesti 200) said on ERR's "Uudis+" program.

While public transport funding in 2025 stood at €162 million, it will rise to €174 million next year. "The actual nominal request was €12 million, as we have long-term contracts with transport companies that are indexed," Terras explained.

The minister stressed that the government agreed during negotiations that public transport is essential and its funding must remain stable.

"This is a very important service for many people in Estonia, especially in different corners of the country. To give an example: owning a car costs roughly €500 per month, while a regional bus pass costs €25 per month," he said.

Since the coronavirus pandemic, baseline funding for public transport has been around €121 million per year, with the Ministry of Regional Affairs requesting extra funds from reserves in past years. Terras said this approach was not sustainable.

"Several institutions have pointed out that if this is a predictable cost, it should be reflected in the state budget. We managed to make that clear during negotiations and it was agreed this is the sensible way forward. It gives transport operators and service providers budgetary certainty," Terras said.

The government also plans to consolidate the current 11 regional public transport centers into either one or two central management hubs.

"In my view, a single public transport center would make sense for Estonia, as it would give us a better overview of the route network. But I must stress that local knowledge and expertise from regional centers will remain. The idea is not to eliminate them or manage everything from Tallinn, but rather to unite this expertise under one central hub," Terras said.

He added that discussions with the Reform Party have also included the possibility of having two centers.

"The key goal is how we can ensure that public transport runs on a clockface schedule, is as fast as possible user-friendly — so that people don't need to buy multiple tickets. Whether we achieve that through one or two centers will depend on the outcome of these talks," Terras said.

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