The head of the North Estonia Public Transport Center, Andrus Nilisk, told ERR that a ticket connecting trains and buses in Tallinn and its surrounding areas would make public transportation more popular. He cited the example of a resident from Rummu who wants to travel to the Tallinn University of Technology in Mustamäe. The county bus, which runs twice a day and costs €3.80, takes them directly to their destination. Alternatively, driving a car, which can be done at any time, costs about €4. A travel option with transfers, offering almost the same freedom as driving, is available 20 times a day from Rummu but is much more expensive.

"The price for such a trip is €7.30 because taking the county bus from Rummu to Keila costs €2, the train to Tallinn is €3.30, and the bus to the university in Tallinn costs another €2," Nilisk explained. "If I have to pay nearly double the price, I will clearly not choose public transport."

According to Nilisk, a single ticket that allows travel on all buses and trains in the region could be cheaper.

However, an agreement on how to distribute ticket revenue is necessary, and this agreement has not been reached by the three major transport operators.

Tallinn Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan cited differing discounts as a major obstacle.

"Until we agree that buses and trains offer the same discounts, it creates significant inefficiencies," Järvan told ERR. He and Nilisk pointed out that children and pensioners must buy tickets for trains but can ride county buses for free.

Currently, the average train ticket is significantly more expensive than the average bus ticket. If they were combined into a unified zone-based ticket system, it would be difficult to agree on how to share the ticket revenue. According to Järvan and Nilisk, this is the main obstacle to creating a new ticketing system.

"If the discounts are not standardized, it is impossible to create a unified product because someone has to cover the cost. For us, it doesn't matter if pensioners and students ride for free on trains or if there is a fee on buses," said Nilisk.

Järvan and Nilisk calculated that if students and pensioners had to buy discounted tickets at 40 percent of the regular price, a unified ticket system would collect an additional €2.4 million annually. If both train and bus rides were free for students and pensioners around Tallinn, ticket revenue would decrease by €6.4 million.

Last week, Regional Minister Piret Hartman said on Vikerraadio that the government currently does not plan to charge students and pensioners for bus rides.

"I wouldn't dare say today that we will start charging pensioners and children. The coalition has agreed that we will not do it. But what the future holds will be determined in further discussions and debates," Hartman said.

--

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