From April 1, a new system of tickets and tariffs will be introduced in public transport; what will change?

The Public Transport Council (STP) approved a new regional public transport (buses and trains) ticket and tariff system on December 14 last year, which will come into effect gradually from April 1 this year and will affect all regional bus and train routes, informs the Road Transport Directorate.

The most significant changes:

1. The new tariff system preserves the principle of the minimum fee, but in order to match this tariff with the public transport of the national cities, the minimum fare is determined: in Riga – 1.50 euros, in other cities of the country – 1.00 euros and outside the cities of the country – 0.70 euros .
2. The changes in the short- and medium-distance bus fares in the new tariff system are relatively small and are aimed at not putting pressure on passengers who frequently use public transport, but as a result of the changes, there are also some cases where the increase will be higher.
3. In order to strengthen the train as the backbone of public transport, it is planned to introduce a new type of ticket, Vilciens+, on the already existing train and bus connections in Aizkraukle, Tukum, Krāslava and Dagda, with which you can travel by bus for short trips to or from the train stop at no extra charge or for a minimal fee.
4. From April 1, trains will have one-time, 1-, 3-, 5- and 30-day tickets, while regional buses will have one-time tickets and existing monthly tickets.
5. Until the moment when all types of tickets are equalized in train and bus transportation, with the introduction of 10 and 20 trip tickets in both types of transportation, the current ticket types for 10 – 19 trips, 20 – 34 trips and 35 and more trips are maintained in bus transportation.
6. 30-day ticket for regular passengers. If the existing monthly ticket on the train paid off for the passenger after 33 journeys and on the bus after 41 journeys, according to the new tariff system, the passenger will benefit from the 21st journey on trains and buses. Therefore, passengers who use public transport often will pay less. From April 1, this principle will be introduced in trains and buses, where passengers are already offered monthly tickets.

From now on, when moving within the zones, the price of train tickets will consist of a journey start fee of EUR 0.50 and a fare in the zone of EUR 0.50, and within the city of Riga – EUR 1.00 (also using two trains on two lines). This means that if the passenger wants to continue his journey beyond the Riga station to another stop within the Riga or A zone, he will not have to pay extra.

“With the introduction of the new tariff system, the procedure for calculating train ticket prices will be made more understandable for passengers, significantly simplifying movement within the zones. For example, from now on, to go from Babīte to Jugla station, you will only have to pay for the trip from Babīte to Riga Central Station, while from the central station the trip to Jugla will be free of charge,” explains Raitis Nešpors, acting chairman of the board of AS “Pasažieru vilciens”, adding that the new tariff system will facilitate the adjustment of train and bus transportation, while strengthening the train as the backbone of public transport in the public transport system.

In the future, a 100% ticket discount will also be provided for less protected groups of society – preschool children, orphaned children, disabled children and their companions, disabled people of group I and their companions, disabled people of group II, politically repressed persons and members of the national resistance movement. Driving fee concessions in the amount of 40%, 50% and 90% will also be available to drivers with Latvian Honor Family cards “3+ Family Card” and “Honor Family”.

Passengers should note that tickets purchased until March 31, 2024 (inclusive) will be valid until the relevant ticket expires, while from April 1, all tickets will be sold exclusively at the new tariff. Passengers will be able to obtain precise information about the new ticket prices at ticket sales points or from carriers. Tickets purchased electronically in mobile applications and on the Internet are cheaper for passengers. The aim is to change the habits of passengers and encourage them not to buy tickets from the driver or at the ticket office.

Justification of the new tariff system

Work on a new regional public transport tariff system began in 2023, and it was determined by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, by which the Ministry of Transport was given the task of preparing a proposal on the measures to be taken to reduce the amount of compensation in order to address the issue of the additional necessary state budget funds for the loss of public transport service providers for covering. The mentioned task can be fulfilled both by optimizing the regional public transport route network, which was also done and the total route network has been reduced by 10% or 7.91 million kilometers since 2019, and by reviewing the existing tariff system and developing a new one. After 2021, the payment of public transport services from the state budget for each trip has increased at least 2 times, and the passenger covers only about 30% of the trip fee from his own funds.

History of tariff formation

The existing regional public transport tariff system in Latvia has been in force since 2020, but even before that it was practically not reformed. For reference – in 2012, the formation of intercity bus tariffs was standardized – the boarding fee depending on the city and the fee per kilometer. In 2015 – 2016, the process of equalizing local bus tariffs was started (until 2014, local transportation was under the control of district councils/planning regions). On April 1, 2016, a zonal tariff was introduced in Latvia for rail transport in the electrified zone, while the tariff per kilometer was maintained in the non-electrified zone. The latest changes in fares on regional public transport routes date back to January 15, 2020, when the fare for all regional transports, regardless of distance, was increased by EUR 0.10. In train transportation, the increase was set by 0.20 EUR more for the ticket price above 1.90 EUR. implementation of the public transport ticket and tariff system.