Protest halts up to 3,000 regional bus routes in Latvia today

Eight bus carriers are participating today in a protest called "A Day Without Regional Public Transport," organized by the Latvian Passenger Carriers Association (LPPA). According to the association, the companies will not run a portion of their scheduled routes throughout the day, potentially affecting up to 3,000 trips and 60,000 passengers.

Participating carriers include Daugavpils autobusu parks, Hansabuss Latvija, Talsu autotransports, Rēzeknes autobusu parks, Norma-A (operating under the Ecolines brand), Liepājas autobusu parks, Nordeka and Dautrans. Meanwhile, Cata, Latvijas sabiedriskais autobuss, Ventspils reiss and Valmiera VTU will continue operating as usual. Information about canceled trips is available on carriers' websites, social media, and the Road Transport Administration's (ATD) website.

Potential fines exceed €100,000

ATD board chairman Jānis Lapiņš said fines for some participating carriers could exceed €100,000, since contracts set penalties per missed trip that increase once a certain threshold of cancellations is reached.

Carriers' demands

LPPA president Ivo Ošenieks said the industry was forced into drastic action because the state has so far only made promises regarding changes to long-term contract indexation. He noted that the government's decision to allocate an additional €9.8 million to regional transport does not solve the underlying problem, but merely covers obligations already due this year. If the issue remains unresolved, carriers are considering another protest on September 30.

The association is calling for immediate revision of long-term contract indexation, compensation for fuel price increases caused by the Middle East conflict, and additional state budget funding. Since the contracts were signed, fuel prices have risen more than 60%, while overall inflation has reached 38.1%.

Ministry's position

The Transport Ministry says it is working with the ATD, the Public Transport Council and industry representatives on medium-term solutions requiring roughly €15 million in additional funding. The ministry stresses that a long-term fix requires reforming the transport financing model, expanding digitalization, and reviewing the route network, not just more money.