Õnne Pillak, leader of the Reform Party's Riigikogu group, said there is certainly room for improvement when it comes to public transport in Estonia's rural areas. However, Pillak believes charging children and pensioners for tickets is not the solution.

"Similarly, €3 million that is expected to be collected from children and pensioners through ticket fees will not fill the gaping hole in public transport funding," Pillak said.

Pillak said if the goal really is to obtain more accurate passenger statistics, then if a fee is to be imposed at all, it should be between a token 1 euro cent and a maximum of €1 per month.

"At the same time, it is important to point out that no decision has yet been made," Pillak said.

Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis, who is also a member of the Reform Party, told ERR that that his party is opposed to the proposed change.

"We are opposed to it at this stage because the reorganization of public transport has not yet been presented in a comprehensive enough manner that would allow for a decision to be made. In other words, once a complete solution is presented for implementation, then we will be able to see whether (rural public transport) will be paid or free," said Leis.

On Friday, Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Hendrik Terras (Eesti 200) said that when the proposed public transport reform comes into force, pensioners and children, who have up to now have been able to travel for free on Estonia's county buses, will have to buy a €15-20 monthly pass or buy single journey ticket costing 50-60 cents.

According to Terras, ticket fares need to be collected to enable the government to obtain more accurate information about where and how often people travel on county buses.

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