Public transport centers: Travel data does not justify charging for rural buses
Rural public transport centers say collecting additional data is not a justification for introducing paid bus tickets for children and pensioners. Data on route occupancy and the travel habits of different passenger groups is already available under current systems.
According to Estonian Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Hendrik Johannes Terras (Eesti 200), the introduction of a €1-pass for the use of public transport in rural areas could motivate people to validate their tickets more frequently.
The minister said that passengers with the right to free travel tend to use buses more often than the current data shows, as they often fail to validate their tickets or passes once onboard.
"This is derived from the ticketing systems and validation data of public transport centers. It clearly shows that the data varies greatly across counties. That is the number of validations per resident varies. It does not mean people are not traveling, but rather that they are validating their tickets less often. That ultimately leaves the state in the dark. Especially for passengers with the right to free travel, we see that the need to register seems less important to those passengers, as it is free in any case," said Terras.
However, most of Estonia's public transport centers already use ticketing systems, which collect data on route occupancy and passengers' travel habits, including those who have the right to free travel. These systems have been placed in several counties for a number of years.
According to the head of the Viljandi County Public Transport Center, passengers on county lines enter the bus one person at a time through the front door, with bus drivers taking records of the stops where all passengers enter and exit their buses.
"We can see if a person wanted to travel from Viljandi to Mõisaküla at a particular time and on that particular bus. We can see whether the person was under 20 years of age, traveling for free, or over 62 years of age, elderly. We can see whether they used someone else's monthly pass or a single ticket and whether the ticket was purchased with cash or was a paper-free ticket. We can get absolutely all that information about every passenger," said Kaupo Kase, head of the Viljandi County Public Transport Center.
According to Kase, when it comes to collecting accurate travel data, the real issue lies with city bus lines, where drivers are not able to make records of all the journeys made by passengers on board. Data obtained from ticket validation information is already being used to ensure county bus lines are used as efficiently as possible.
"We make adjustments on the first day of every month. This is regular and routine work," said Maikl Aunapuu, director of the Tartu County Public Transport Center.
"Either we eliminate a section of a route where there is no demand or, if there is seasonal demand, we change a section of a route so it is demand-based. Similarly, if a section of a route is in very active use, we add it back into the main routes. Collecting data is absolutely no problem," Aunpuu explained.
"What we would expect is for the ministry to show more interest in our activities and, for example, come and visit us on site to gain a better understanding. At the moment, that seems to be lacking."
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Editor: Michael Cole, Johanna Alvin
Source: "Aktuaalne kaamera"
