📋 Tender Overview
Today, on February 10, the government reviewed and took into account the informative report prepared by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) on the organization of public transport services in 2026. It provides an overview of the current situation of the industry, the improvements made and the planned measures to ensure the continuity of the service, in order to continue to maintain a network of routes available to citizens and functioning throughout the country. For 2026, the forecasted additional necessary funding for the provision of public transport services in the amount of last year is 9.19 million. euro and the issue will be brought up in the 4th quarter of this year. The task of the state is to ensure the mobility of citizens throughout the country by developing a sustainable, data-based and population-oriented public transport system. In order to make reasonable decisions about future changes, I have instructed to create a MoU working group whose task will be to prepare and submit proposals for the organization of public transport services and route planning within three months, comments the Minister of Transport Atis Svinka. According to the decision adopted by the Public Transport Council on December 19, 2025, this year the volume of public transport is maintained at the current level (route network of 2025) and residents are provided with constant mobility options if additional financial resources are available. The report shows that public transport costs have increased significantly in recent years, due to the increase in the number of train passengers, as well as the volume of orders, as well as in bus transport, the indexation costs of carrier contracts have had a significant impact. On the other hand, the current 93.8 million euros per year have been allocated in the state budget for the provision of regional public transport services. Of the mentioned amount, 52.9 million euros or 56% are intended for bus transportation of regional importance, including approximately 10 million euros per year for compensations for fare reductions at the level of 2025. The calculations of VSIA Autotransporta Direkcija (ATD) indicate an increase in real costs, which directly affects the amount of compensation, showing that in order to fulfill the public transport service contracts, the funding allocated in the state budget base for 2026-2028 is not sufficient. According to ATDs estimates, in order to ensure the mobility of citizens throughout the country and to maintain the network of public transport routes in 2026 in the volume of last year, the forecasted additional funding for regional bus transportation this year is 9.19 million. Taking into account that in 2026, the network of public transport routes of regional importance will be preserved for passengers in the amount of 2025, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will prepare a draft of the Cabinet of Ministers order in the 4th quarter of 2026 on the allocation of additional funding from the Funds for Contingencies budget program. Actual performance data and the updated forecast will be taken into account when calculating the additional funding required. Also, the MoU budget performance indicators in other MoU budget programs will be evaluated in order to determine whether part of the necessary funding cannot be covered within the budget funds allocated to the MoU. The year 2026 marks the transition to more modern and data-based public transport planning. To reduce the increase in compensation for public transport services, a series of measures have already been implemented, including the optimization of the regional bus route network, reviewing low-profitability routes and at the same time maintaining the mobility of the population. Also, the efficiency of bus station services has been improved, the transfer of routes to the railway as the backbone of the public transport system has been promoted. At the same time, greater involvement of local governments is planned this year, continuing detailed negotiations with all 42 local governments on the possibilities of restructuring the route network, coordinating the possible transport plan with carriers, incl. taking into account the proposals and suggestions received. It is also planned that municipalities will be able to get involved in route planning by using access to a common route planning tool, as a result of which it will be easier to initiate changes and monitor public transport provision. In the first half of this year, it is planned to complete and implement the strategy of commercial routes, which will ensure the conditions for the performance of routes for carriers of commercial routes and the opportunity for residents to receive more extensive transportation services. Also, this year the modeling of the route network will be started, based on the actual demand of the population, which will contribute to mileage optimization and increase mobility opportunities by offering passengers a better public transport service - reducing the time interval between the most requested flights or creating more connecting flights to train traffic and, as a result, creating new connections. In order to promote mobility in regions with low or irregular demand, a road transport on demand model is being created, which will provide residents with more mobility options to get to transport transfer points as needed, providing the opportunityget to the nearest service receiving points. Several long-term reforms for the development of the public transport system are also planned, including the gradual introduction of an interval schedule in train traffic. Synchronization of electric trains with convenient transfers throughout the day has already been ensured at the Riga station. The development of connecting bus routes to railway junctions, the development of mobility points, including in Riga, Cesis, Carnikava, Saulkrastos as part of the Station 2.0 project, as well as the introduction of a modern transpo
