Over €174 million to be spent on public transport subsidies next year
The 2026 state budget which has just passed its first Riigikogu reading includes plans to allocate nearly €175 million to subsidize bus, train, ferry, and air transport.
This represents around a 7 percent rise on year.
Whereas in 2025 €162.13 million was allocated from the state budget to public transport subsidies, next year's figure is to rise to €174.45 million.
The state budget bill's explanatory memorandum notes an additional €3.7 million will be added from revenues generated by the sale of emission allowances. This will be used to purchase energy-efficient buses for providing public bus services.
The state will also in 2026 be subsidizing bus transport to the tune of nearly €81.4 million, sea transport with €33 million, air transport with €7.8 million, and rail transport with €52.3 million.
The total subsidy for all these sectors will have risen on year.
Andres Ruubas, head of public transport at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, said several factors are behind the rise in subsidy expenditures next year, including higher infrastructure fees for railways, ports, and airports; increased service prices due to index adjustments and new contracts; busier rail schedules; the introduction of new locos, wage salary hikes for train drivers and technicians.
The explanatory memorandum also notes that next year a unified work stream will be created for rail operator Elron, regional public transport centers, and city line organizers interfacing with train routes, as well as a motivation system for the public transport centers to ensure that local county lines and trains are synchronized at key regional railway stations.
The memorandum also outlines plans to change the rail maintenance and repair regime such that all work on a given section would be completed at once, with minimal disruption to the schedule for that zone. Work on the line between Tartu and Tallinn this year has been subject to delays, as well as causing delays to passengers.
Plans also include continuing the rollout of unified regional ticketing systems, which would make it significantly cheaper to travel by public transport using a monthly or zone ticket rather than by car or with single tickets.
Around 33 million passenger trips are made on public transport in Estonia annually, generating about €50 million in ticket revenue. The funding need for public transport rises by 4-6 percent per year.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
