The sharp jump in fuel prices caused by the conflict in Iran has not led people in Estonia to leave their cars at home.

Mehis Leigri, head of the road assets department at the Estonian Transport Administration, told ERR: "The available data does not show that the recent increase in fuel prices has affected the volume of private vehicles or total traffic volume on state roads over the past month and a half."

Statistics from the first few weeks of April show traffic volumes increased at most counting points compared with March 2026 and the same period last year, he added. The pattern is seen across the country.

 The data is reflective of the normal seasonal fluctuations and the longer-term growth trend in traffic.

No change visible in Tallinn

There has been no change in Tallinn either, Anton Rohtla, service manager for monitoring systems at the Tallinn Transport Department, told ERR.

"Based on data from permanent traffic counting points, there has been no noticeable decline in traffic volumes during the past month and a half, when fuel prices have been rising. The number of private vehicles on city streets has generally remained stable," he said.

As six weeks is a fairly short period of time, the impact of higher prices on traffic behavior may simply not yet have become clearly apparent, Rohtla added.

Over a longer period, however, the change in Tallinn is the same as on state roads: traffic volumes are increasing.

"Traffic volumes on Tallinn's streets have rather been on a slow upward trend, though the changes have varied from year to year," Rohtla said.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!