Public transport fares to nearly double in Riga

Public transport fares are being raised in Riga as of Feb. 1, 2015, the local authority of the Latvian capital city announced Friday.

The full price of a trip in public transport in Riga will increase from 0.60 euro to 1.15 euro (0.70 to 1.33 U.S. dollars), the local authority said.

The fare hike was announced after Riga's city council failed to reach an agreement on public transport subsidies with the Latvian central government, which refused to accept different fares for residents and non-residents of Riga.

The local authority cannot continue to compensate Rigas Satiksme, the public transport system operator, for its costs while ensuring a 0.60 euro fare both for those who pay their taxes in Riga and those who pay them elsewhere, the city council's representatives explained.

The city council's representatives also indicated that the existing discounts and benefits would remain in place in Riga's public transport and that new discounts would be introduced for several groups of passengers.

Opposition members of Riga's city council slammed the fare hike as "rushed" and said it would only make the cash flow of Rigas Satiksme less transparent.

Sarmite Elerte, the leader of the opposition centre-right Unity party, told Baltic News Service that the decision to raise public transport fares in Riga was hasty and meant that Rigas Satiksme would become an even bigger "black hole" devouring taxpayers money.

Fully owned by the Riga City Council, Rigas Satiksme provides bus, tram, and trolleybus services to passengers in Riga. Enditem