Järvan made the proposal to Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis (Reform) on Monday that cars with at least two passengers should be able to drive in bus lanes in the capital. He said this works successfully in other countries.

Commenting on Järvan's idea, Sander Salmu, deputy secretary general for mobility at the Ministry of Climate, told ERR that he supports the goal of reducing the overall number of cars, improving traffic flow, and promoting environmentally friendly mobility.

However, allowing cars with at least three passengers to use bus lanes has not, so far, been considered suitable or necessary in Estonia, he added.

"This proposal would also make it significantly more difficult to implement automated bus lane monitoring in the future, which Tallinn has been piloting since the end of last year," Salmu said.

The official recalled that last year, Järvan suggested the ministry ban electric vehicles from driving in bus lanes, arguing that even a small number of electric cars interfere with public transport operations.

PPA: City government should focus on creating a safer environment

Taavi Kirss, head of traffic supervision at the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), said the so-called carpooling issue has not been discussed with the city government.

However, the PPA is prepared to take part in discussions about the issue if there is a move to develop the idea into a concrete plan.

"The police generally have no objection to well-thought-out, analysis-based and holistic solutions that actually work, but in this case, allowing cars with more passengers to use the bus lane is merely a raw idea," Kirss said.

He noted that the police do not support the idea in its current form, mainly because there are no good means of enforcing bus lane use. "Without addressing the issue of enforcement, ambitious ideas for using bus lanes lack substance," Kirss said.

He stressed that there are bigger traffic issues that need to be addressed.

"The police's main concern is the growing number of pedestrian-related traffic accidents, which means that rather than focusing on this, we should work together with the city government on creating a safer urban space and on other solutions that improve safety at both regulated and unregulated pedestrian crossings," Kirss said.

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