After several years of bureaucratic coordination between the two countries, cross-border bus routes have started running between the cities of southern Estonia and northern Latvia, ERR News reports.
The arrival of the bus, which connects Valka in Latvia and Valga in Estonia, at Valga train station is planned so that passengers can catch trains to Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius. However, it is expected that the main beneficiaries will be local residents, who now have a more convenient way to travel between the border cities. The route is currently open as a one-year pilot project. The buses run three times a day, and the costs are covered by European Union funds.
Ivar Unt, head of the Valga County Public Transport Center, said that it is expected that pensioners and children, who travel free of charge, will use the bus more. He added that it is also possible to adapt to working people, but then the departure time should be adjusted.
The route that previously connected Pärnu with Ikla has now been extended to Ainaži and Salacgrīva.
Bus driver Neeme Teearu said that people have been waiting for such a route and there is a lot of interest, especially from pensioners.
Andrus Kärpuk, head of the Pärnu County Public Transport Centre, said that the aim of the cross-border routes is to make it easier to get to the neighbouring country, as people in border regions are often connected by family ties, and there are also properties and jobs on the other side of the border. Until now, residents have had to walk several kilometres to get from Ainaži to Ikla, as different legislation did not allow for the creation of a cross-border route, and international flights did not stop at the small stops.
Unt said that in his opinion, these are still local routes, despite the fact that they cross the state border, but now international transport rules, which are stricter, must also be taken into account.
There are several more places where a cross-border route would be necessary, but there are currently no plans to implement one.
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