No resolution yet after Latvian bus carriers' protest over stalled contracts
Following a September 16 protest by passenger carriers that affected around 40,000 people, transport officials and industry representatives acknowledged on Delfi's talk show that the underlying dispute over contract indexation remains unresolved.
A protest staged by passenger transport carriers on September 16 affected an estimated 40,000 people. The carriers raised the issue that no agreement has been reached for a long time on indexing long-term transport contracts or compensating for rising costs.
Ivo Ošenieks, president of the Latvian Passenger Carriers Association (LPPA), told the "Spried ar Delfi" program that the sector needs additional funding to cover the sharp rise in fuel and labor costs. Kaspars Bērziņš, deputy state secretary at the Transport Ministry, said all parties currently find themselves "hostages of the situation."
Outdated baseline data
Ošenieks explained that long-term contracts for regional bus services were signed based on data that no longer reflects current conditions. The tender was launched in 2019, but the baseline figures used for it dated back to 2018 — meaning they were already outdated at the time.
According to LPPA calculations, fuel prices have risen by more than 60% since carriers submitted their tender bids, while overall inflation over the same period reached 38.1%. Industry representatives point to this gap between contracted funding and actual costs as the main driver of the protest.
The discussion made clear that no concrete solution has been reached so far, though both sides indicated the conversation about compensating for increased costs is continuing.
