J. Mote usually travels with this carrier to Tallinn or Vilnius, but today he has a business trip to Liepāja.
“I am not tired on the way. This is very important because I have to start work now. Convenience makes life easier,” she points out.
Another new bus “Irizar i6s Efficient” manufactured in 2023 is still waiting to leave for Riga.
Low step, do not have to enter with difficulty. Red curtains, a matching red edge is incorporated into the pattern of the seats. Drinking water is freely available on the front seat behind the driver’s seat. Upon boarding, the passengers will be greeted by a well-known voice belonging to Liepaja theater actress Karina Tatarinova.
Driver Agris Gaidlazda has been working for Lux Express for the sixth year. He says that this bus has only been on test trips and that only newly purchased buses will go to Liepāja, the company bought them on the 17th.
“They have been improved – almost 900 kilograms lighter, there are no mirrors, but there is a concave, which all together reduces fuel consumption and therefore emissions by 13 percent.
This is the most environmentally friendly bus in the Baltic States,”
boasts its leader.
Mirrors can be dispensed with because cameras are installed instead and the driver sees the rear view on the screen.
A. Gaidlazda notes that passengers appreciate the comfort and all the offered options: multimedia screen, toilet, free hot drinks and water.
He drove to Liepāja for two days, and on the highway with dense traffic and many crazy overtaking maneuvers, he was not at fault.
“We regularly have training on economical and, above all, safe driving. We are evaluated, the evaluation is rewarded.
Passenger safety comes first for us, so we don’t look at how intense the traffic is, we drive at a safe distance,”
says the driver.
He calls the working conditions in the company fantastic.
“We have a great manager who coordinates and arranges schedules so that no one is overworked. There are quite long rest periods, we know our schedules several months in advance, nothing is changed or jerked,” says A. Gaidlazda.
For the portal liepajniekiem.lv it is unofficially known that at least eight drivers have recently left “Liepāja bus park” (LAP) to work for “Lux Express”.
While journalists and representatives of the Liepāja City Council are looking at the new bus, boarding has begun for the commercial flight provided by LAP to Riga.
Adrian says that he doesn’t care who the carrier is and what bus is driving, because he doesn’t drive every day.
“It already looks comfortable,” he looks at the “Lux Express” bus, “but single-decker.”
“I drive so rarely that I don’t really care,” reveals Antra.
“I drove only as far as Saldum. If I ever go somewhere further, to Riga, then I will think about another option.”
“Lux Express” Baltic Business Development Manager Aldis Ķibēns announces that today we are opening the longest bus route in Latvia, which will connect the western border with the eastern border, will connect the three largest cities of Latvia and will give a lot of passengers easy access to their desired destinations.
“The passenger industry has made a turn from a business model that was based on government subsidies to a business model that puts the passenger and their comfort first,” he says.
Liepāja City Council Chairman Gunārs Ansiņš thanks the carrier: “This is a very good start when commercial flights enter Liepāja that can compete with state-funded flights. You must publicly promise here that the flight Daugavpils – Riga – Liepāja will be extended in the direction of Klaipėda. Who could promise that?”
“Lux Express” board member Ingmars Ross immediately comes forward and reveals that he knows one very important word in the industry “movement” in Latvian.
“I promise that including Klaipėda in our movement is one of the priorities,”
he declares.
Liepāja municipality is a minority shareholder of “Liepāja busu parka”. While being happy about the arrival of Lux Express, is it also interested in the development of the other carrier and its ability to provide equivalent services?
Competition is very important, which both improves quality and most often also reduces prices, notes G. Ansiņš.
“Also LAP has announced the opening of commercial flights on the Riga route. The two biggest players that transport passengers have realized that Liepāja is an important place to expand traffic,” emphasizes the chairman of the council.
