International passenger carrier Lux Express is considering taking legal action against the state in connection with compensation for transporting passengers eligible for fare discounts, according to representatives of the company.
The company states that despite the Ministry of Transport’s (MoT) willingness to resolve the long-standing issue of compensation, Lux Express has received a refusal from the Road Transport Administration (RTA) to reimburse losses caused by fare concessions on commercial routes in Latvia.
Since launching regional commercial routes, Lux Express has provided free transport for more than 69,000 passengers benefiting from state-subsidized fare discounts, but has not received any compensation – suffering losses of more than half a million euros.
Aldis Ķibēns, board member of Lux Express Latvia, notes that the company has so far done everything possible to reach a mutual agreement through dialogue, but the RTA has once again refused compensation, citing the lack of legal framework for calculating and disbursing such payments.
He adds that this decision by the RTA is perplexing for several reasons – especially since the current compensation claim is based on EU regulations and a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which mandates that
member states must compensate public service providers for losses incurred due to the enforcement of state-mandated fare concessions.
Moreover, resolving the compensation issue has the support of the MoT – including the Minister of Transport Atis Švinka (P) – as confirmed in communications with Lux Express.
Ķibēns explains that the official response received from the RTA has exhausted all avenues for negotiation.
“So far we have received only unfulfilled promises – for example, before commercial regional passenger services were launched on the Liepāja-Rīga-Daugavpils route in May last year, Lux Express was given verbal guarantees that the state would establish a compensation mechanism. But more than a year has passed and this issue remains unresolved,” he emphasizes.
At the same time, he notes that due to the RTA’s decision sent on the 18th of June, the clock is now ticking – Lux Express has 30 days to file a legal claim to protect its rights in this matter. However, he also adds that the company remains open to possible solutions.
Ķibēns expresses hope that the RTA will act in accordance with Latvian and EU legal norms
and will ensure that the legally required compensation is paid.
According to him, resolving this issue would help attract more high-quality commercial carriers to Latvian routes.
“Failure to resolve this issue hampers the implementation of the 2026 reforms in public transport policy, which aim to reduce subsidized transport services and shift the focus toward commercial operations,” Ķibēns stresses.
As previously reported by LETA, in April this year Lux Express submitted an official request to the MoT, asking for compensation for losses caused by providing fare discounts on commercial routes in Latvia. This was the company’s second official letter to the state regarding the issue. The MoT then instructed the RTA to re-evaluate the claim submitted by Lux Express.
Additionally, on the 13th of May of this year, the government approved amendments to the Public Transport Services Law prepared by the MoT, which would allow commercial route operators to receive compensation for transporting passengers with fare discounts. However, the law still needs to be adopted by the Saeima.
As previously reported, Lux Express Latvia posted a turnover of 3.783 million euros last year – 2.2 times higher than the year before – but recorded losses of 354,167 euros, in contrast to the profit the year before.
Lux Express Latvia was registered in 1994, with a share capital of 193,404 euros. The company is owned by Estonia-based Lux Express Estonia. The Lux Express Group provides international long-distance services to major Baltic cities and Warsaw, as well as domestic passenger transport in Latvia and Estonia.
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