Over 10,000 sign petition to keep free travel for people with disabilities

More than 10,000 signatures have been collected on Manabalss.lv, Latvia's citizens' initiative portal, to preserve free travel for people with disabilities and their companions. The initiative opposes the Ministry of Transport's plans to restrict fare concessions and asks the Saeima, Latvia's parliament, to reject such a limit. Signature collection began on 6 November.

Current rules and the ministry's proposal

Initiative representative Raimonds Lejnieks-Puķe explains that the Disability Law currently guarantees free travel for people with disability group I or II and for children with disabilities. Free travel also applies to a person accompanying a child with a disability or a person with group I disability.

The Ministry of Transport has proposed limiting the state-funded concession to 70% of the ticket price, meaning passengers would pay 30% for what is now free travel. If a child with a disability cannot travel alone, the family would have to buy tickets for both the child and the companion.

What the initiative demands

The initiative proposes that the Saeima keep the rights set out in Article 12, Part 1, Clause 7 of the Disability Law in full and reject the 30% co-payment. It also seeks to end mandatory surcharges on regional commercial routes. Currently, if a commercial route ticket costs more than the state-set tariff in subsidised regional transport, the passenger pays the difference. The author wants the Public Transport Services Law amended and Cabinet regulations reviewed.

In addition, the initiative says the government should calculate the funding needed for this guarantee separately from the public transport subsidy when preparing the budget. If it later wants to reduce the guarantee, it would first have to publish an impact assessment, present funding alternatives and consult organisations representing people with disabilities.

The ministry's funding options

The ministry's proposed solution would raise fares by an average of 10% from 2027 and cut concessions from 100% to 70%. Ombudsperson Karina Palkova, patient organisations, the disability association "Apeirons" and the "Latvian Child Welfare Network" have objected.

The ministry's report offers three options for the Cabinet of Ministers to consider. Base funding has been 93.8 million euros since 2024, while costs in 2026 are forecast at about 109.9 million euros. The second option, which the ministry considers practically feasible, keeps the network and would save about 6.9 million euros a year. The third would keep current concessions but require roughly 15 million euros more annually.