The Road Transport Administration (ATD) board chairman Kristiāns Godiņš said at a meeting of the Public Transport Council held on Friday, the 6th of January, that the this year the institution may review regional bus tariffs.
On the 6th of January the Public Transport Commission discussed the topic of distribution of the state budget funding towards coverage of losses experienced by regional carriers in 2023. ATD Public Transport Finances Office manager Kristīne Grīviņa said the general funding is planned to reach EUR 64.78 million this year, which is EUR 5.5 million less than a year prior. EUR 8.5 million is planned to be diverted towards maintenance of railway infrastructure.
She stressed that the funding that was available in previous years is no longer enough.
Optimally the funding intended for regional buses will last until September and until June for trains.
Considering that there was good revenue in train transports in summer months, funding for railway transports may «end up in a critical situation in September». Grīviņa also said many coach stations have increased their service fee this year. Electricity costs have increased as well. This is why Pasažieru vilciens JCS was asked to provide information about the cost increase.
The financial coverage of regional bus carriers remains at 32%. For trains it is 45%. The rest is compensated from the state budget. Grīviņa explained that although the number of passengers is up, it is not enough to ensure 50% coverage of costs. This means it is necessary to look for other solutions to avoid increasing the load on the state budget.
She mentioned two possible solution – increase of tariffs or reduction of the regional network.
Kristiāns Godiņš, on the other hand, said the request to commence the review of tariffs has already been voiced. He said he hopes it will be possible to organise discussions in February. «About the tariff review – this step will likely be made, but the question is how. The offer needs to include a full review of the tariff formation policy, not propose shaving a couple of percentage points,» said the chairman of ATD.
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