Due to a significant decrease in the number of passengers, there will be changes in the public transport timetables
The declared state of emergency in the country to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, as well as the established restrictions and recommendations on the remote organization of work and study process have caused a significant reduction in the number of passengers in the public transport of Riga. In the light of the above, “Rīgas satiksme” with the decision of the Riga City Council Executive Director of January 16, will make temporary changes in the movement and schedules of public transport – trams, trolleybuses, buses and express buses, adjusting the public transport flow according to the passenger flows. As before, the company will primarily assign long vehicles to the route and will continuously monitor the passenger flow in public transport and, if necessary, assign additional vehicles. All the latest "Rīgas satiksme" vehicles are equipped with automatic passenger counting systems, thus, when the vehicle is 50% full, the dispatchers receive a signal that will allow them to react quickly and assign an additional vehicle. The decision to adjust public transport runs to passenger flows, as well as the possible solutions, have also been discussed between "Rīgas satiksme" and the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and further consultations on various issues will be continued.
In September, Rīgas satiksme significantly increased the number of public transport runs, ensuring public transport output at almost the same level as at the beginning of 2020, even before the COVID-19 situation. However, the passenger flows in December have now decreased by more than 40% compared to September. While comparing the data with December 2019, the decrease reaches 49% (see the figure).
Analysing the data on changes in the number of passengers on weekdays by hours, a significant decrease in the number of passengers can be observed compared to the average number of passengers in September (see the figure).
"Rīgas satiksme" calls on the non-working pensioners, as well as other categories of passengers, who travel in public transport with a 100% discount, to use public transport during the day when the passenger flows are low.
Changes to bus, trolleybus and tram runs
From January 16, on weekends, and from January 18, on working days, changes have been made to several timetables.
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Trolleybuses
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It is also stipulated that the following routes will be closed as long as passenger flow remains low:
- bus routes No. 4z and 35, 38, 59, tram routes No. 3 and 9;
- bus route No. 57, trolleybus routes No. 1, 11, 12 and 13 on weekends.
The passengers who have purchased monthly tickets on closed routes are allowed to use them on other equal "Rīgas satiksme" routes – buses, trolleybuses and trams, without registering the trip.
If the passengers observe a situation when there are large passenger flows in the public transport, please report it to “Rīgas satiksme” by calling 20361862, writing an e-mail to info@rigassatiksme.lv or to the company's social network profiles, specifying the route and time, so, upon necessity, the company can react quickly – order a larger capacity vehicle or an additional vehicle.
Temporary public transport timetables will be placed at the stops and will be different from permanent timetables, as will be printed on yellow paper. The employees of "Rīgas satiksme" have begun to change the timetables at the stops, but considering the large amount, the placement of the new temporary timetables may take a few days, so we invite passengers to view information on transport arrival times on the company's website.
Changes to express buses
From January 16, on weekends, the express bus route No. 300 will be closed, while express bus routes No. 304, 322, 324, 337, 338, 341, 344 will be closed from January 18.
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