The municipality of Ogre region continues negotiations with Valsts SIA “Autotransporta direktija” regarding poor-quality public transport services

On March 26, the chairman of the municipal council of Ogre region, Egils Helmanis, representatives of the municipality and heads of several parish authorities met with representatives of the State SIA “Autotransporta Direkcija” (ATD) to discuss the problems that have arisen since passenger transport on bus routes in the administrative territory of Ogre region is carried out by JSC “Liepāja bus park”.

“Ogre county is the largest county in the country, with a large rural area, therefore public transport is very important for residents. Unfortunately, the residents have not been receiving quality service for several years. These are not just isolated, unpredictable cases, but regular violations – non-execution of flights, provision of buses of inadequate size, non-issuance of tickets, missing or late information about canceled flights. When the local government raised this issue at the level of the cabinet of ministers in 2022, the situation improved a little, but unfortunately again JSC “Liepājas busu parks” is unable to provide quality service. This is not acceptable for the municipality of Ogre region,” emphasized E. Helmanis during the meeting. He noted that, unfortunately, before making the purchase, no one consulted the municipality of Ogre region about the current operation of the public transport service and the needs of passengers, as a result, the following situation. E. Helmanis called on ATD for mutual cooperation and regular communication, because only with joint efforts will we be able to solve the existing problem, so that the residents can receive the highest quality service possible.

Gints Sīviņš, the deputy chairman of the municipal council of Ogre region, stated that such a situation has been going on for several years, as a result, residents choose to use public transport less and less, because they are not sure whether they will get to the necessary destination. He also noted that an agreement had been reached with the former passenger carrier JSC “CATA” that passengers for whom the Ogre Region Municipal Council has determined fare concessions can pay using the Ogre Region Resident’s Card. The introduced electronic accounting system was easy to use for both students and seniors, and also allowed to obtain accurate data on the number of passengers. Unfortunately, the current carrier does not want to implement such a service, pointing out the necessary additional costs.

During the meeting, representatives of the municipality and parishes emphasized that information is still not provided on time, for example, about stops where public transport will not stop in the future, or changes in ticket prices, as well as the negative attitude of many bus drivers. There have been several situations when people, including children, stay at bus stops in the evening, in bad weather, because the driver does not stop and pick them up.

After listening to the complaints of the representatives of the municipality, the chairman of the temporary board of ATD, Artūrs Caune, invited the municipality to prepare and submit to the directorate proposals on how to improve the situation. Both parties agreed on further cooperation to would allow the residents of the county to use public transport according to their needs.

During the meeting, ATD representatives presented the planned changes in the public transport sector, which envisages both the introduction of electronic tickets and the coordination of routes not only between different bus routes, but also their connection with railway traffic, the development of the park&ride system and other issues.

It should be noted that the problems in the public transport sector in Ogre region were also presented on March 22 at the meeting of the Development Council of municipalities of the Vidzeme planning region, in which transport minister Kaspars Briškens and ATD representatives also participated, acknowledging that the situation in Ogre region is critical. The Ogre region municipality was represented by Gints Sīviņš, deputy chairman of the Ogre region municipality council.