Great innovation awaits small towns: they will try to run buses that everyone would like to travel

Public transportation is becoming greener.

Using investments from European Union (EU) funds, Lithuanian regional municipalities are gradually renewing public transport and improving urban infrastructure. According to Jonas Damidavičius, the sustainable mobility expert at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, renovating the local public transport fleet will save residents money and introduce a series of innovations in municipalities. We spoke with representatives of regional municipalities and asked them what public transport renovation projects will be implemented and how they will change the daily life of the population.

According to J. Damidavičius, due to EU investments, public transport in small cities becomes more ecological. According to him, most cities chose to buy buses that run on clean and alternative fuel: compressed natural gas. Some municipalities have also decided to buy electric buses.

“The EU investment program aimed to renew urban public transport fleets. By developing sustainable mobility plans, cities have decided how to make the public transport system more efficient. The aim was also to adapt public transport to people with special needs ”, he assures.

We will see the changes in a few years.

According to J. Damidavičius, cities conducted surveys that would encourage the population to use public transport, and the responses showed that orderly infrastructure is very important to people.

“Residents wait for the bus to wait on a normal, roofed platform, with electronic scoreboards showing real-time schedules. Some cities have analyzed pricing policies, perhaps the prices were too high. One of the measures is the introduction of an electronic ticket. It is convenient for passengers to have everything on one card, not to buy paper tickets at once, and the driver is not distracted and does not have to do two jobs at the same time, “says the interlocutor.

According to the specialist, the number of people who choose public transport is growing slowly, since changing people’s habits is a long and difficult process. According to him, the changes could be evaluated in a few years, since the planned plans will be implemented or will already be fulfilled.

The newest transport park in Taurage

According to Modestas Petraitis, director of the Tauragė district municipal administration, in 2017 the city renovated a large number of its existing buses. According to him, Tauragė is one of the first cities in Lithuania to buy electric buses with EU funds.

“Currently, we have three purchase documents for the purchase of two more electric buses, and in a few years we plan to have at least 8 electric buses. Currently, the Tauragė bus fleet owns 34 buses, and their average age is 6 years, so we can safely say that we have one of the newest transport fleets in Lithuania, “he says.

Advantages of electric buses.

According to the representative of the municipality, in order for public transport to be convenient and attractive to the population, it is important to increase the number of routes and bus stops and the frequency of trips. According to him, it is the new electric buses that are gradually achieving these goals.

“Earlier this year, the first-generation Solaris Urbino Electric 8.9 electric bus was introduced to Tauragiškės. A bus with 48 passengers can travel about 170 km on a single charge, and is half as cheap to cover a distance of 100 kilometers. in a normal bus Two more compact IVECO electric buses arrived in Taurage in May They have 20 seats and 8 standing places, can cover about 200 km with a single charge, and only cost around 7.50 euros to cover 100 km All These vehicles are adapted for people with reduced mobility, “he says.

Consider transporting Tauragiškės free of charge

According to M. Petraitis, the Tauragė district municipality has just started implementing the sustainable mobility goals in small steps, therefore it is too early to assess the changes. According to him, it is gratifying that with the increasing convenience of public transport, there is already a changing attitude of the population to travel in the city by bus, which is positively evaluated much more frequently than a few years ago.

“At the end of last year, the Tauragė District Council made the decision to allow UAB Taurag bus parkas to transport passengers free of charge on all local routes of the Taurag Distrito District Municipality during some holidays and events. We hope this is a great incentive to try public transportation and think about using it more often. It is no secret that in the future we are considering allowing public residents to use public transport completely free of charge.

In addition, to increase the attractiveness of public transport, it is planned to install an electronic passenger information system at stops and buses, where it would be possible to monitor in real time when the bus will arrive and other relevant information for passengers, “reveals the interlocutor.

All residents will benefit

According to M. Petraitis, one of the main objectives of the restructuring of public transport is to reduce pollution. There is also a shortage of parking spaces in the city.

“Until now, public transportation in Taurage has not been a very attractive or widely used vehicle, therefore we hope that the ongoing transformation and modernization of public transportation will be a major boost for residents to switch from cars to conventional buses and and thus reach the destination. ” All residents will benefit as high-quality public transportation services will be provided, environmental pollution will be reduced, and the city will become cleaner, quieter and even safer, ”he says.

Regulates the price of public transport.

Jonas Kurtinaitis, Head of the Department of Infrastructure and Environmental Management of the Municipality of Marijampolė, says that the city will try to install an electronic ticket system, adapt sidewalks and bus pavilions for people with disabilities, install signs with bus routes and arrival times in the waiting pavilions.

“We encourage people to use public transport by reducing the cost of public transport. Our council regulates this price so that it is available to all social groups. The price is kept so that it does not go up, part is supported by the municipal budget. We will encourage the use of electronic tickets, which can lead to easier and more accessible public transport for the population, ”he says.

Expect to reduce congestion

According to the expert, it is now difficult to comment on the number of passengers on public transport, since it has decreased significantly due to the quarantine. According to him, the number of passengers is now recovering, but at the end of the school year, students no longer use public transport, so the flow is reduced.

“The buses have been renovated, some also run on natural gas. I believe that the implementation of the projects will make it more convenient for residents to travel in the city and the suburbs. We strive to facilitate transportation and commuting, and we hope that Reduce congestion. The municipality received EU support for these projects, which covered part of the amount, “says J. Kurtinaitis.

Stores will promote sustainable mobility.

Edita Kuliešienė, Deputy Head of the Strategic Planning and Investment Division of the Municipality of Telšiai District, assures that a new request for the implementation of sustainable mobility measures has already been submitted in this city. According to the interlocutor, it is planned to implement up to 4 measures.

“Development of an electronic ticket system in public transport, installation of passenger waiting pavilions, adaptation of streets and sidewalks for the disabled and installation of electronic signage in public transport waiting stations. We have now submitted an application to the Central Project Management Agency, which is evaluating and we hope that a financing agreement will be signed in the near future and we will implement this project. The submitted project will be evaluated and comments will be provided after a couple of months. Then, financing agreements are signed with the agency and the funds are allocated to the implemented project, ”he explains.

Adapted infrastructure

According to the specialist, a sustainable mobility plan has been prepared for the city, according to which all the infrastructure will be organized, adapted to Telšiai residents and guests. According to E. Kuliešienė, the goal is to make public transport convenient, attractive to city residents, and less polluting the environment with their own cars.

“We are expanding the infrastructure of the pedestrian and bicycle trails to make it convenient, accessible and use our own transportation as little as possible. Until now, there have been no changes in the number of people who use public transportation, it is mainly used by students and people of retirement age, “she says.

Utena plans to buy 4 electric buses

Romualda Serbentienė, Head of the Strategic Planning and Investment Division of the Municipality of the Utena District, explains that in September of this year it is planned to present a request for investment of EU funds for the implementation of sustainable mobility measures. According to the specialist, a city council meeting will be held this month, where approval and permission from the council to submit an application is expected.

“We plan to buy 4 electric buses. We have been talking about them for a long time and they are included in the sustainable mobility plan, we have submitted all the documents, now we are getting closer to the implementation of the project itself. If the application is positively evaluated, We should sign the contract before the end of the year and complete the project in 2022.

We will submit another project request, update and install new public transport stops. So far, no application has been submitted for this project, it is only included in the regional development plan. We are planning communication in the city, we are trying to change to ring roads, “says the specialist.

The number of public transport is decreasing.

According to her, new and attractive buses, more convenient routes and schedules are expected to encourage the use of public transport. According to R. Serbentienė, in the small town of Utena and other types of transport infrastructure it is sufficiently developed.

“There are many hiking and biking trails here, and they unfold every year. In the city itself, the population is declining slightly, which in turn reduces the flow of public transport. Most passengers are socially disadvantaged people, but a significant number of working people travel to the industrial area.

The number of passengers for urban transport increased slightly last year, but this year’s statistics and quarantine have confused everything. Transportation and schedules were adjusted, and the movement of people was restricted. The statistics are not very attractive today, but we are gradually recovering and returning to the usual numbers, ”says R. Serbentienė.

The issue of price regulation was also considered.

According to her, the issue of price regulation was also considered to attract more people to use public transport. According to her, since prices are controlled by the municipal council, it is first necessary to analyze the burden on the municipality if it is decided to reduce or increase prices.

“We are now collecting very detailed statistics on passengers entitled to discounts under the Preferences Act, and then a proposal must be made to the Council. This is not a task for the coming months, but we plan to do so this year. Public transportation in our municipality has remained the same since 2015. As far as I know, other municipalities have raised it, “says the interviewee.