Liepāja Launches First New Electric Buses and New Route Network

On Friday, July 31, the first low-capacity electric buses will begin operating in Liepāja. They will be operated by PS "Pilsētas pārvadājumi", which won the municipal tender and will provide public transport services for the next ten years. With the new contract, a revised bus route network and a new ticketing system come into effect.

Out of five new low-capacity buses, one already features Liepāja's public transport visual identity, while the other four will initially run in white and be decorated later. The high-capacity buses have already been rebranded and fully comply with the new design.

Major changes include increased frequencies on key routes. On weekdays, route 4 will see a rise from 20 to 52 trips, and route 10 from 24 to 70 trips. These routes will now extend to Siena tirgus, while route 6 will terminate at Klaipēdas Street near the "Baata" shopping center. The former route 12 is replaced by direct routes 25 or 25A.

Starting July 31, a time-based ticket replaces the single-ride ticket, and the 10-ride booklet is replaced by a 10-time-ticket pack. Each ticket is valid for 40 minutes from validation, allowing free transfers within that period. Importantly, the 40 minutes is not a total travel time limit but the window to validate the next journey; the overall trip may exceed 40 minutes.

A three-month transition period has been set to ease the changeover. During this time, inspectors will provide guidance and will not issue administrative fines if passengers exceed the ticket validity due to delays or other reasons beyond their control. Data on ticket usage, transfer patterns, and journey times will be collected to potentially refine the system.

Passengers are encouraged to use digital route planners such as Google Maps, marsruti.lv, and the mobile app "Liepājas pilsēta" to find optimal routes and transfers.