However, while the car tax has now become a reality, little progress has been made with that reform.

The Ministry of Regional Affairs has said the first steps will be implemented this year.

The car tax was approved in January last year, and entered into force.

At that time, government members said that mobility reform was a prerequisite for the car tax, and that the goal of the new tax was to reduce dependence on cars and direct more people from private cars and onto public transport.

The car tax and registration fee have been in effect for three months now, while the mobility reform (Liikuvusreform) has since been re-titled as the public transport reform (Ühistranspordi reform), yet there has still been no tangible progress to speak of regarding the reform itself.

Andres Ruubas, head of the public transport department at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, told ERR that the reform's first activities are due to materialize this year.

He said: "A clock-face schedule for train services will be launched in Lääne-Harjumaa, and the integration between bus and train services will be improved. As a result, public transport accessibility will improve in several areas."

According to Ruubas, there are also plans to launch a unified ticketing system in Tallinn and the surrounding Harju County, while preparations are underway for similar changes elsewhere too.

This month, co-creation events are to start in various regions of Estonia, where the strengths, weaknesses, development needs, and priorities of the current public transport service will be mapped.

Ruubas said: "Based on this knowledge, the current public transport network will be improved, relying more heavily on fast rail traffic and on-demand public transport options. The broader implementation of the latter depends on funding from the EU Social Climate Fund."

After the previous government collapsed, former climate minister Yoko Alender (Reform), who temporarily served as acting Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture before the new base coalition agreement was signed, announced that she would be canceling several initiatives made by previous regional minister Piret Hartman (SDE).

Among other things, decisions on the funding of the mobility reform would be left to the new minister, Alender added.

The new Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, Hendrik Johannes Terras (Eesti 200), took office a week ago.

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