This winter Riga public transportation users could see a major price increase.
RIGA — The price of a ticket on Riga’s buses, trolleybuses and trams are likely to increase by 50 percent or more if the city’s public transportation authority has it way.
Rigas Satiksme announced in a press release that due to an unexpected cut in subsidies it will ask regulators to approve an increase in the cost of one prepaid ride from 40 santims (€0.57) to 60 santims (€0.85). Tickets bought from the driver will cost 80 santims (€1.1), up from the current 60 santims, while the price of monthly passes will jump 50 percent, according to the authority’s plans.
Discount fares for pensioners, invalids, students will remain in effect, the authority said.
Coming just after the government adopted a painful austerity budget for 2010, news of the likely fare hike was not well-received in the Latvian media. However, as the authority was quick to point out, it is because of the budget, which abolished subsidies for public transportation in the capital, that Rigas Satiksme is forced to appeal for a new, higher schedule of fares.
“In order to provide transportation services, 13 million lats (€18.3 million) will be necessary in order to fill the budget gap in 2010,” the authority said in a statement.
Rigas Satiksme can find 5 million lats (€7 million) by cutting costs and optimizing performance, but the remaining 8 million will have to come from increased revenue, the statement said. It is unclear how Riga City Council members will judge this request.
On the one hand, they must ensure the safe, reliable and economically viable operations of the city’s public transportation; on the other, they have to face public opinion, which won’t forgive them if they approve the full price increase at a time when joblessness is rising (according to official statistics, unemployment reached 11 percent in Riga in October) and salaries and wages are being slashed.
As is often the case with regulated services, an increase will be improved, but not the full hike that Rigas Satiksme has requested. Rigas Satiksme said that it has laid off 1,000 workers and cut salaries by 20 percent this year as part of its belt-tightening campaign. The authority said revenues are down 20 percent this year compared with 2008, while the value-added tax was increased from 5 to 10 percent, as a result of which Rigas Satiksme lost 2 million lats (€2.8 million) in income.
As a regulary user of Rigas Satiksmes services I could have some alternative ideas for better efficiency. NO upgraded prices, it only will
dicrease the number of passengers, or seems they will increase the
fare so much than who cares if some part of passengers will leave.
First of all re-checking routes and timetables. Now rather oftern two
buses are driving after each other like chickens following the hen.
The second one almost empty while the first one is collecting all
passengers. Less bureaucracy. I do not believe it is ok for now, and
how about benefits of directors, they use to be so over the clouds around here. Maybe paying ticket will not be so popular any more after that
new pricing coming true. And someone need to look into mirror instead of
pointing passengers. Illegal is alway illegal but solution is to put the focus on reason.
I understand that VAT thing as a reason, but how it is possible to loss so much? Lost passengers? Any statistics available comparing to past years? Fired workers, reduced salaries….somewhere is a black hole. This time it’s not called Parex but where is the black hole???