Public transport use among working people in Estonia has declined over the last ten years. At the same time, it is costing the state coffers millions more and more.

Five years ago, regional bus services cost a total of €43.6 million. Last year, however, the cost reached €72 million. The National Audit Office sees this as a failure on the part of the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture.

"It is fair to admit that it is not possible to provide regional public transport to every village and location. There are most likely no possibilities for this in the budget. However, what should be coordinated centrally by the ministry is the issue of at least knowing the minimum levels of where people ought to be able to get to and when by using regional public transport in all cases," said Ines Metssalu-Nurminen, chief auditor at the National Audit Office.

According to the Metssalu-Nurminen, uniform standards for public transport have to be in place nationwide. Currently, the ability to maintain the regional network depends on the financial capacity of public transport centers.

According to Andres Ruubas, head of the public transport department at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, there must be at least 3 bus departures a day to ensure basic accessibility for people living in sparsely populated areas in order for them to travel to work to get to work and reach a doctor when needed. Rubas disagrees with the National Audit Office's view, however, that it is possible to establish uniform standards throughout the country.

"In some places, when we ask local residents and employers, they say that 2 to 3 households should be the minimum threshold for public transport coverage to be in place. In other areas, they say that it should be a settlement with 50 or 100 residents," said Ruubas.

The National Audit Office also raised concerns that the Public Transport Act does not clearly specify which routes (county, long-distance bus, or municipal) should be organized and financed by the state and which ought to be the responsibility of local governments. According to the ministry, however, a change to the law is planned.

"If a route is there for a specific purpose, then it is intended only for the transportation of elderly people to the store or only for schoolchildren. But in that case, we have the question of whether it should be part of the regional route network, because our goal is to provide universal public transport," explained Ruubas.

These types of special-purpose trips could instead be organized by local governments. According to Andrus Kärpuk, head of Pärnu County Public Transport Center, the government should determine the minimum requirements. He believes it is a separate issue as to whether a bus line operates in order to meet those requirements or whether on-demand transport is used instead.

"Public transport centers are interested in ensuring that only those trips that are truly necessary are made, and in these cases, you cannot set a limit on the number of people or revenue per kilometer. Above all, public transport is not an economic issue, but a regional policy issue and access to services must be ensured," said Kärpuk.

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