The number of passengers in Tallinn public transport increased by 7.7 percent during the year
Last year, Tallinna Linnatranspordi Aktsiaselts served a total of 142.4 million passengers in the capital, of which 100.9 million traveled by bus, 29.8 million by tram, and 11.7 million by trolleybus. Last year, the number of passengers increased the most in the bus by 9.7%, the number of passengers in the tram increased by 4.1% and in the trolleybus by 0.6%.
“The year 2019 is definitely a revolutionary year for the company – the largest increase in the number of passengers in history, which was accompanied by the renewal of the company’s management systems and preparations for the transition to environmentally friendly public transport,” said Deniss Boroditš, Chairman of the Management Board of Tallinna Linnatranspordi AS. “Comparing our public transport with Riga, for example, we see that the number of public transport users in the capital, which is almost 200,000 larger, is equal to Tallinn.”
According to Boroditš, the biggest visible changes in the coming years await public transport due to the increased attention to the ecological footprint of transport companies and the rapid development of electric bus technology. “Today, we see that electric buses have combined the best features of trolleybuses and conventional buses, which means that fossil fuels will no longer have a place in the public transport of the future.” According to him, the goal of Tallinna Linnatranspordi AS is to completely abandon the use of diesel fuel in public transport by 2025, and the transition to electric buses will take place by 2035 at the latest.
Last year, Tallinna Linnatranspordi AS actively engaged in the recruitment of drivers, thanks to which it was possible to increase the number of the company’s bus drivers by 125 people to 1,052 bus drivers. The company employs a total of 1,297 drivers. “Looking to the future and given the average age of bus drivers, we must work hard to stay competitive to recruit the best public transport drivers,” said Boroditš, who said it was important to gain a competitive advantage when recruiting exemplary drivers, because it also helps to raise the level of service for passengers and, ultimately, to make public transport more popular.
In 2019, the number of buses serving passengers on rush hours in the streets increased by 14 percent to 421 buses and the number of trams by 7 percent to 45 trams. The number of trolleybuses did not change last year, and 32 trolleybuses serve passengers during rush hours. Last year, Tallinna Linnatranspordi AS vehicles covered a total of 32.5 million line kilometers.
The fleet of Tallinna Linnatranspordi AS has a total of 529 buses, 70 trams, and 50 trolleybuses, which serve a total of 83 public transport lines in the capital.
