While buses from Tallinn to Tartu or Pärnu depart almost every half hour, buses to smaller towns have been decreasing year by year, reported "Aktuaalne kaamera."

Andres Ruubas, head of the public transport department at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, said that South Estonia, Pärnu, Valga, Viljandi and Võru regions, where long-distance bus lines have significantly dwindled, are the most problematic.

Since ticket revenue must cover the carrier's costs for commercial lines, Ruubas noted that it's inevitable that commercial bus lines won't operate in certain areas.

"In some cases, the state has stepped in and subsidized these lines with public service funding. For example, the Valga-Viljandi line operates this way," Ruubas said.

GoBus operates the line, and according to the company's regional manager Ramses Riive, they likely wouldn't carry the connection without the subsidy, as ticket revenue isn't sufficient.

"We operate based on market principles. If there's demand, there's supply. If there weren't enough passengers, we'd only be where there are passengers," said Ruubas.

According to Ruubas, the state is not interested in intervening in the bus market, but must do so in case of market failure. One option to stimulate competition in the bus market is through tendering processes.

"One possible solution is to set a minimum amount the state is willing to contribute for a route, and then see which provider is willing to operate for that amount," Ruubas explained.

Triin Tammert, who lives in Võru and frequently uses public transport, said bus connections in South Estonia leave much to be desired.

"These buses are a bit of a 'know your homeland' tour. They go through Põlva and sometimes Otepää. Tartu has the most direct connections. There's no direct connection with Viljandi and Pärnu. There's probably one bus to Pärnu that takes about 4.5 hours. The selection is poor," Tammert said.

Additionally, when planning a trip from Võru, you must consider that there are no buses leaving the city after 7 p.m. Tammert suggested rethinking how to integrate bus and train services.

"The fastest way to get to Võru, which I often use, is to take a train from Tallinn to Põlva and then have someone pick me up by car. But I'd really like it if there was a bus from the Põlva railway station to Võru. However, the situation between the two counties has been insurmountable for years," Tammert said.

The distance between Võru and Põlva is about 30 kilometers. Currently, 13 long-distance bus lines are subsidized, costing around €2.5 million annually.

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