Several bus stops in the Estonian capital feature electronic displays that are supposed to indicate how many minutes remain until the next buses or trams arrive. Several electronic systems, however, have been malfunctioning for quite some time.

At times, passengers waiting at bus stops aren't being shown accurate arrival times on these displays, while bus and tram drivers lack an overview of how many minutes remain until they should reach a given stop. Public transport fare validators have likewise been experiencing issues.

"These failures have been pretty significant for bus drivers too," acknowledged Tallinn Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa).

"Bus drivers have electronic aids that tell them what time they should depart from which stop," he explained. "Our quality standards strictly ensure that buses don't run late or ahead of schedule. Since these devices have also been seriously malfunctioning lately, we're actually unable to enforce these quality standards. This is causing confusion among passengers and bus drivers alike."

Tallinn has now fined its service provider Ridango €150,000.

"Thus far, we've been given promises that things will improve, but these issues have persisted for quite some time," the deputy mayor noted. "Although the contract allows for even stricter penalties, we hope this €150,000 contractual penalty will genuinely motivate our service provider to get these issues resolved more quickly."

Ridango communications chief Aksel Kirikal said that they have not yet received the city's penalty claim, and thus they cannot comment on the matter in more detail.

Järvan noted that the city currently has no intention of replacing Ridango as its service partner. Rather, they hope these issues will be resolved.

The deputy mayor also said that the city is moving forward with its plan to install more displays at bus stops providing real-time information about bus and tram arrivals.

"We'd certainly like to install such displays wherever there is a permanent power supply," Järvan confirmed. "However, if we are experiencing failures throughout the entire system, the additional benefit these displays should provide ends up being questionable. Unfortunately, we currently have to address these fundamental issues to ensure that core functions are maintained. Only then can we move forward with additional development. For example, we ourselves have hoped to roll out the option of validating bus fares using your phone."

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