30.05.2024
At the Rail Baltica mobility conference taking place in Ülemiste today, experts will discuss how to make public transport work so that cars are not people's first priority and they would prefer to live elsewhere than in Tallinn.
The problem was first raised by a travel enthusiast known throughout Europe. Jon Worth, who says that the train system generally works relatively well within each country, but as soon as you cross the border, problems start to arise. “The quality of service is uneven, schedules don’t match, you can’t buy a ticket conveniently or the railway ends at the border altogether, these are definitely things that the European Union as a whole could improve.”
Economic and transport expert Raivo Crow noted that jobs, education and quality of life tend to be concentrated in the big city. “Already 75 percent of Estonian people live in the railway catchment area, this is huge potential. The railway catchment area must be made functional, a person must be able to reach their destination within an hour,” Vare explained how to slow down the urbanization and bring life to the outskirts. “History has shown that where there is infrastructure, there will also be life.”
Mobility Reform Advisor at the Ministry of Regional Development and Agriculture Hannes Luts stated critically that the Estonian public transport system is a mess. "Organizationally, everyone lives in their own principality. It is important to focus on quick wins, so that you can get from Ülemiste to Tartu by train in an hour and a half and that there is a single ticket system for all modes of transport in Tallinn and Harju County, so that I am not punished with a higher ticket price if I change trains from a bus," he noted. At the same time, he pointed out that one of the biggest obstacles to implementing changes is people's enormous fear and resistance to any kind of change.
Member of the Riigikogu Hanah Lahe said that the main problem in Tallinn is that you can get everywhere faster and more comfortably by car. In addition, he highlighted the problem that public transport still does not have a good reputation. “People think that it is for the poor, it is dirty, strange people drive there. This is mostly not true, but this opinion is widespread in Estonia that using public transport is embarrassing,” said Lahe. “Public transport must be of good quality, reasonable ticket prices, being a light commuter must be comfortable, only in this way can people be made to prefer more environmentally friendly transport.”
Professor Emeritus, Tallinn University of Technology Dago Antov emphasized that now is a good time to implement changes, because social readiness is higher than before. “The new generation is ready to change the picture, but life is not catching up, for example, the ticket system is completely incomprehensible, it has been worked on for several decades, but it still does not work,” said Antov. “In addition, people do not care how far the railway is, but where the stop is and what the connection to that stop is.”
Head of the Traffic Service of the Estonian Transport Board Joel Jesse noted that the car should not be opposed, it is also part of mobility. "Cars are still important in rural areas, public transport cannot reach everywhere with sufficient frequency. The parking lots at the railway stations are full of cars. This also gives an opportunity to local stops of Rail Baltica, so that it does not matter whether we live outside Rapla or in Tallinn," said Jesse.
Event photos
The Rail Baltica Mobility Conference is being held for the first time, where experts from both Estonia and abroad will discuss how to make public transport work better and how to break down resistance to change.
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