Jüri Ratas: a low-wage person loses one month of service with paid public transport

The abolition of free county public transport is another blow to the livelihood of low-wage people, who have to spend an amount equal to one month’s salary on ticket prices every year, said the deputy chairman of the Riigikogu regarding the decision of the Government of the Republic to abolish the right to use public transport.

“Assuming that the ticket is valid for one and a half hours, a working person will spend more than 60 euros on a bus ride in one month, which is more than 700 euros per year. This year, the minimum wage in Estonia is 725 euros, and this means that people with less service give up one month’s salary a year for bus tickets,” said Jüri Ratas. “Free public transport has justified itself. The number of rides increased by 21 percent in the first quarter of this year, or from 4.9 million rides in the first three months of last year to 5.9 million rides in the same period this year. In total, there were 22.2 million public transport trips in 2022.”

Free county public transport was established in 2017 at the initiative of the Center Party, when Jüri Ratas was the Prime Minister and Kadri Simson was the Minister of Economy. “Losing free public transport is a big mistake because it serves two big purposes. In today’s situation, where Estonia’s economy has declined for six quarters in a row and people’s purchasing power is decreasing, free bus travel is an important service for people to get around. Secondly, free public transport is an environmentally friendly solution that helps meet Estonia’s climate goals,” said Jüri Ratas.

According to Jüri Ratas, it is not possible to improve the route network with a few million euros received from ticket revenue, because already this year there is a shortage of twenty million euros. “The head of Sots, Lauri Läänemets, has promised that the quality and availability of public transport will improve when the ticket price is established. I think that this is another lie that has become so characteristic of this government,” stated Jüri Ratas.

Also, Jüri Ratas, a member of the Tallinn City Council, confirmed that free public transport will continue in the capital.