The number of people living in Tallinn and the number of kilometers covered by bus, tram and trolleybus lines in the city have both increased over the last seven years. Despite this, the number of public transport users in the Estonian capital is now lower than before the coronavirus pandemic.

While between 2017 and 2019, Tallinn's public transport system averaged 142 million journeys per year, this figure fell rapidly during the pandemic, to 91 million in 2020, 76 million in 2021 and 96.3 million in 2022. Last year there was a sharp increase (133 million journeys), though it still fell short of pre-pandemic levels. Tallinn's population has increased by more than 15,000 people, or around three percent, since 2017.

The figure of 133 million passengers is the total number across three modes of transport, with buses transporting 103 million passengers, trolleybuses 10 million and trams 20 million.

Tallinn Deputy Mayor Vladimir Svet (Center) told ERR that there are several reasons why passenger numbers are lower than before the pandemic.

"We have to take into account that the coronavirus pandemic changed the way workplaces organize their work, especially in terms of remote working. In many establishments, remote working is still quite common, and employees of all the companies in Tallinn do not necessarily have to work permanently in the office, but are able to do so in different parts of Estonia as well as abroad. This has certainly had an impact on the use of public transport," Svet said.

There are also plenty of reasons why the number of passengers increased last year, Svet said. "In our view, the increase is due to the changes in public transport routes that were introduced in the summer, the end of the coronavirus pandemic, and also the improvements to the methodology for calculating the number of passengers at the beginning of 2023, which was made possible thanks to the significant increase in the number of buses with on-board counters," he said.

Since 2017, the total number of kilometers on Tallinn's public transport system has increased by around 11 percent. Last year it was 36.3 million kilometers.

By 2035, half of Estonia's population should be using public transport regularly.

Tallinn's plans are ambitious. By 2035, the city wants 50 percent of residents to be using public transport regularly. In 2020, which was taken as the baseline when putting together the Tallinn Mobility Plan, 32 percent were using public transport regularly. In other words, an increase of over 50 percent of that figure is being targeted.

As the number of journeys on public transport has not increased, there is no way to conclude that the number of public transport users has increased. Asked what plans are in place to achieve the city's goals, Svet said that the first step is to modernize the network.

"On top of that, we are also paying attention to public transport stops – the information there has to be accessible and up-to-date, and waiting for public transport has to be comfortable too. To this end, we will install more than 300 new [public transport] shelters this year," Svet said.

The city plans to increase the average speed at which public transport moves, and to designate special lanes on roads for public transport. The average speed of public transport in Tallinn is currently quite low. In 2021, the average speed of trams in the city was 16.2 km/h, while for trolleybuses it was 17.5 km/h. Buses traveled at 20.2 km/h on average. The changes would allow the city to increase average speeds of public transport, with the target for 2035 being 23 km/h for trams, 20 km/h for trolleybuses and 22 km/h for buses.

Precise details of how the Tallinn Mobility Plan, which stretches until 2035, will be implemented are expected to become clearer in the second half of this year.

What is known now, is that, in addition to the so-called Vanasadam (Old Harbor) tramway, which is due for completion this year, new tramways will also built on Liivalaia tänav and Pelgulinna in the coming years. New trolleybuses will also be purchased, and thought is being given to reopening the trolleybus lines on Sõle tänav and Paldiski maantee.

The city's bus fleet will also be gradually upgraded, with the first electric buses expected to enter into service this year.

Tallinn also plans to begin negotiations with the state to increase the frequency of trains running in the city as well as to introduce new stops between Ülemiste and the Baltic Station (Balti jaam).

--

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