In Tallinn, changes to the public transport network are set to come into force on Monday and will affect a total of 15 bus routes. The changes not only have an impact on where buses can go, but also when and how often they operate.

Mobility expert Hannes Luts said it was not certain that the public transport reforms would increase the number of passengers. On the contrary, Luts said, there could be even fewer users, as some of the more popular routes will be squeezed out during peak hours.

"In fact, quite a number of heavily loaded bus routes will be reduced in number, making the service less attractive to the current public transport users who now use these existing routes. I certainly don't believe we will have masses of buses in Tallinn at peak times on routes that are half empty. Generally speaking, this is not true anyway. We have a large number of lines during peak hours where there are still problems with overcrowding and we have lines where we should actually tighten up the timetables," he said.

Luts suggested that the public transport reform should not have been implemented at all at this stage.

"If the city does not have the resources, buses or bus drivers to carry out these reforms of the route network at the moment, then perhaps it should not have done it for now. Why are we rushing?" Luts asked.

Tallinn Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa) responded to Luts' criticism on Vikerraadio' s "Uudis+" program. Järvan said that the plan is to bring a slight increase in the number of line kilometers.

"To say that it is not possible to make it more efficient and that it is not possible to get more public transport users for the same amount of money is definitely wrong. In fact, from last year's experience, we can see how these efficiencies actually brought more users to public transport. Even now we can see how we could get significantly more public transport users with the same amount of resources," Järvan said.

Järvan added that the city's transport joint stock company has kept the price per line-kilometer the same for three years now.

"While we have record inflation going on in the background, the price per line kilometer has remained the same. We have been able to increase the salaries of bus drivers, which means that for the same amount of money, you can get better quality public transport in Tallinn," he said.

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