Government not ruling out keeping free rural buses for pensioners and children
The Estonian government hopes to save up to €25 million over four years via the proposed public transport reform. Most of the money would come from reorganizing the route network, including the closure of some rural bus lines.
On Thursday morning, several dozen people gathered in front of Stenbock House in a demonstration organized by the Center Party. The protestors oppose plans to abolish free public transport in Estonia's rural areas for children and pensioners.
"Considering the situation whereby a car tax has also been introduced, the more we can guarantee funding for public transport, the better, and of course, we should guarantee free travel for people, regardless of age. The direction the current government has taken means both car travel and public transport are being taxed," said Center Party MP Lauri Laats.
According to the public transport reform plan presented at last week's government cabinet meeting, children and pensioners would, in the future, be required to either buy a €15-20 monthly pass or pay €0.50-0.60 for a single ticket when traveling on rural buses.
However, Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said the amounts are not set in stone, and the overriding purpose of introducing tickets was not to raise additional funds but to obtain more accurate data on who is traveling and where.
"I have said, and Minister Terras has also said recently, that it could be a €0 or €1 monthly ticket, so that no one would have cause for financial concern – be that children or pensioners – and if we know who is traveling and where, it will then be possible to optimize the route network," said Michal.
According to Michal, there is consensus within the government that the public transport reform is necessary and will definitely move forward. However, the precise details are still to be discussed. Among the issues to be ironed out are potential ways to save €25 million over a 4-year period.
"We need to look at the bigger picture to see how we can achieve the remaining savings, whether through state budget support or by reviewing the route network, while also working with public transport centers to make this all more efficient," said Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Hendrik Johannes Terras (Eesti 200).
"Those savings have to be made through reviewing how the route network is developed as well as how tasks are carried out, so it may be the case that it is not be possible to achieve the full amount of savings. We don't know that at the moment. First of all, we will plan out what the optimal route network is, and if savings are achieved, that will come at the expense of closing unused or unnecessary routes," said Michal.
According to the prime minister, additional routes may also be added in certain places. The completion of the railway infrastructure will also play an important role in the reforms.
"Bus and rail transport ought to be better integrated here. Currently, they are handled separately. Once the electrification work on the railways is complete, the situation will be completely different – we will have more trains. After that, it will be particularly important to integrate these bus and rail lines," said Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis (Reform).
The merger of some public transport centers and the introduction of demand-based transport in sparsely populated areas is also not being ruled out.
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Editor: Johanna alvin, Michael Cole
Source: "Aktuaalne kaamera"
