N. Ušakovs: cheaper tickets for Riga residents is a step forward to free public transport in Riga
One trip in buses, trolleybuses or trams operated by Riga municipal company "Rīgas satiksme" will cost Riga residents EUR 0.60 (LVL 0.42). It is by EUR 0.11 (LVL 0.08) less than now. Passengers having not declared their place of residence in Riga will pay EUR 1.20 (LVL 0.84) per trip.
To identify Riga residents, a special Riga resident’s card will be introduced. It will also function as a personalised e-ticket.
Those who are not using a personalised e-ticket will be able to receive a Riga resident’s card. The cards will be issued by "Rīgas satiksme" customer service centres starting from of November 15. Riga residents will be able to receive the cards free of charge until December 31, 2013, after presenting an identity document. Information about the declared place of residence will appear in the card automatically. "No certificates will be required," N.Ušakovs added. There are plans to open extra customer service centres, as large numbers of customers are expected. “If a person thinks out to declare his or her residence in his/her friend’s or relative’s house or apartment, to receive the Riga resident’s card and to "check out" just a few days later, he or she will not succeed in fooling Riga city, because this checkout will be automatically fixed by the electronic payment system,” Riga mayor said. The holders of personalised e-tickets will not have to receive Riga resident’s cards in place.
Starting from January 1, 2014, holders of a Riga resident’s card/personalized e-ticket will pay for a trip in buses, trolleybuses or trams operated by Riga municipal company "Rīgas satiksme" EUR 0.60 (LVL 0.42). Those passengers having not declared their place of residence in Riga and using non-personalised e-tickets will pay twice as much as Riga residents, i.e. EUR 1.20.
A ticket sold by a public transport driver will cost EUR 1.20, regardless of the passenger’s declared place of residence.
Riga residents will also pay less for one-month tickets (see the Annex).
The existing discounts for students and teachers, free tickets for pupils, students of vocational training schools and music schools remain unchanged, regardless of the passenger’s declared place of residence.
According to preliminary estimates, the price of one trip in higher comfort minivans of SIA "Rīgas mikroautobusu satiksme" for holders of a Riga resident’s card/personalized e-ticket will be EUR 0.70 EUR, for other passengers it will be EUR 1.20 EUR.
The planned large-scale reform of ticket pricing policies in Riga public transport, which will be implemented next year, will allow the revenues of the Riga city budget to be raised significantly, Riga Mayor Nils Ušakovs said at the press conference on Thursday. "This reform will urge people, who are actually living in Riga and using its infrastructure, to pay taxes also in Riga. The more there will be such people, the better it will be for Riga," he said. According to current estimates, there are more than 100 000 such persons in Riga. The city expects that some 10 000 of them will declare their place of residence by the end of this year "The experience of Tallinn shows that the number of newly declared residents was about 8 000," N.Ušakovs said.
He added that municipalities concerned will be offered to sign agreements with Riga to allow their residents to keep their status while enjoying the benefits of Riga residents.
A new website will be launched to give precise information about the expected reform and changes in ticket prices.
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