The Riga City Council’s Finance and Administration Affairs Committee will on Thursday decide on terminating the operations of SIA Rīgas karte, the municipality reports.
The committee will vote on granting SIA Rīgas satiksme permission to purchase the 49% of company shares owned by Rīgas karte’s co-owner for a symbolic amount — one euro — as well as instruct Rīgas satiksme to withdraw from the company by initiating its liquidation. On Friday, the 5th of December, an extraordinary council meeting will be convened to vote on the matter.
The draft decision was prepared after Rīgas satiksme received an offer to exercise its pre-emptive rights and buy the 49% shareholding owned by the company’s foreign co-owner for one euro.
“Over the years, Rīgas karte has become a source of scandals and disproportionate costs, so this is the right moment to sever ties with it completely.
This will not require additional funds from Riga
— the money currently in the company’s accounts will return to the city, and full control will allow us to carry out the liquidation properly,” said Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs (P).
Although Rīgas karte no longer performs active economic activity, its shareholders are still obliged to take part in the company’s governance during ongoing litigation with the State Revenue Service. Therefore, acquiring the shares would be a logical and justified step to legally conclude the company’s existence, Rīgas satiksme’s management notes.
“The main goal of acquiring Rīgas karte’s shares is to ensure full control over the company, which will allow a faster and more efficient liquidation process without the need to coordinate decisions with a second shareholder,” emphasised Rīgas satiksme’s Chairwoman of the Board, Dzineta Innusa.
Rīgas karte was established in 2007 as a joint venture between Rīgas satiksme (51%) and the French technology company Conduent Business Solutions (49%). Its primary task was to develop and maintain the electronic ticketing system for Riga’s public transport, implementing and servicing the e-ticket, as well as managing the ticket distribution network.
Several years ago, Rīgas satiksme fully took over and now operates the electronic payment system itself, and has also assumed control of the parking management system — a change that allows the company to save several tens of millions of euros annually.
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