"Rīgas satiksme" launches campaign "Handwork… it shows" : Current information : Rīgas satiksme

Back to list Print 6. Apr. 2011

"Rīgas satiksme" launches campaign "Handwork… it shows"

"Rīgas satiksme" is launching a campaign called "Handwork … it shows" ("Roku darbs… to pamana") in order to draw public attention to the consequences of vandalism in public transport, especially in trams. The campaign will last until the end of April. During the campaign, posters will be placed in tram carriages to show what trams would look like if not repaired after being damaged by vandals.

Riga City Mayor Nils Ušakovs: "The local government invests heavily in buying and maintaining trolleybuses, trams and buses. I hope that this campaign will highlight the problem of vandalism and will make everybody to think whether it wouldn’t be better to save the money we spend every year on repainting trams, replacing windows in buses and patching up seats in trolleybuses. Opinion polls show that 94% of all Riga residents use public transport. Let’s think about other people and respect others’ work, and then it would be possible to allocate the funds spent on eliminating the consequences of vandalism for other, much more useful purposes."

According to the statistical data of "Rīgas satiksme", there was a total of 2452 acts of vandalism in Riga public transport in 2010 – broken and scratched window and door glasses inside public transport vehicles, drawings inside and outside vehicles, cut, broken or stolen seats, stolen emergency hammers and other damages. 71% (or 1747) of all vandalism cases occurred in trams. In 2010, direct losses from vandalism amounted to LVL 132,000, but in the first two months of 2011 LVL 47,000 were spent on eliminating the damage caused by vandals.

Every day "Rīgas satiksme" staff establishes the damage caused by unfair passengers to public transport. The most popular types of vandalism are scratched window and door glasses inside the vehicles, as well as drawings on carriages. Most frequently vandals cause damage to trams No. 6, 11 and 4.

Although the number of acts of vandalism is much higher, in 2010 "Rīgas satiksme" asked criminal proceedings to be instituted in more than 100 cases, and it was done in most of them. If the police succeed to find the guilty persons, they are not only subject to a punishment, but also have a duty to indemnify losses caused to "Rīgas satiksme", which range from several lats to several hundreds of lats.

"Rīgas satiksme" calls on passengers to be active and to report on cases when public transport vehicles are damaged, calling police or "Rīgas satiksme" toll-free phone 80001919.

For more information about the services provided by "Rīgas satiksme", route schedules and other public transport news, please visit our website at www.rigassatiksme.lv or call our toll-free information phone 80001919.