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Kaunas public transport has been waiting for changes in Kaunas since August. Paulius Keras, deputy director of the municipal administration of the city of Kaunas, shared the changes that await the residents of Kaunas and answered the questions that concern the citizens the most.
– Introduce pending changes in the public transport system and payment for their use.
– Citizens have been using the electronic ticketing system for more than a decade. It is outdated both morally and technically. It is time to change the electronic ticketing system of the cards. A new electronic ticketing system will begin on August 1. Current cards remain; It will not be necessary to change them, all residents who have used them so far will be able to continue using them. Old cards will remain and discounts and all information will be automatically transferred to the new system. Sometimes there can be some problems if the e-ticket card is used to purchase only one type of ticket: one-time, fixed-term. The new card may not offer a discount for the type of ticket the person used before. If we know that older people use 80 percent. discount, this discount is the same for them both for fixed-term tickets and for single tickets. And for students and schoolchildren, the discount is slightly different: 50% for unique tickets and 80% for themed tickets. discount. They may need to set a discount in the future.
Mr Kerer mentioned the advantages of the new electronic ticketing system, but acknowledged that some misunderstandings may arise at first. (Photo by Vilmantas Raupelis)
– How to do it?
– Both at the point of purchase and at the customer service center. There will be a small proportion of these people, as the vast majority of cards use both types of banknotes. We see what discounts have been applied, they will be automatically migrated to the new system and customers will be able to use them as before. It is important to see if any barcodes remain on the card that are relevant when filling out the card at the distribution points. If the barcode does not survive, it will be possible to change the card at the customer service center. All other cards that are valid are in order, valid below. The order of the inputs and their types is changing. The townspeople, who used to use the Žiogo app, got used to a slightly different form of fixed-term tickets: they filled themselves with money by deducting a single travel tax, and they didn’t have to think about buying a fixed-term ticket. ticket, because the system automatically calculates per person. If the amount reached 20 euros without discounts, the application would stop automatically and the other trips would be free. E-tickets will work the same way. They will need to be filled with a certain amount of money: every time you get into the vehicle, you will have to rest in the composter and the price of a trip will be deducted. When the amount paid reaches the price of the fixed-term ticket, the payment will stop automatically.
– What are the reasons for the changes? Are people expected to use public transport more?
– There is no doubt that the ticketing system will be simpler and better understood by everyone. We plan that starting August 1. the cards will be available to recharge in the main supermarkets and newsagents. There will be a new and really convenient online filling system, which will function as a mobile application “Žiogo”.
It is very important to use available funds efficiently, which is why traffic flows are constantly monitored.
– People notice that 30 min. the transition period is too short. Maybe there is an opportunity to expand it?
– We chose 30 min. since many calculations have been made and we see that the average travel time within the city limits is 20-25 minutes, for longer trips in the suburbs, but within 20-25 minutes. the absolute majority arrives at the transfer point and has the opportunity to transfer. Analysis of previously used tickets showed that within 30 min. about 80-90% people. A long period would include not only transfer trips, but return trips as well.
– Has the number of routes decreased during the quarantine?
– Today, the number of trips by public transport has decreased as total passenger traffic has dropped by around 70% during the quarantine period. Some city residents chose a different type of trip – scooters, bicycles, increased the number of private cars. It was during the quarantine that privacy and a safer space were greatly sought after. This situation forces us to review the number of flights, the route network; if we did not, we would be forced to raise the price of services.
The amount of trips is constantly changing, monitoring all routes and flows. Of course, during the quarantine period, the number of trips has dropped dramatically and we are now close to the normal summer regime.
– A vicious circle is emerging: fewer journeys, inconvenient for people, so they choose other means of transport, and the municipality is trying to encourage people to use public transport more. If there are few people on the trip, a lot of money. It is possible to talk about increasing the price of tickets, does it seem that the price in Kaunas has not changed in four years?
– Yes, the price hasn’t changed for quite some time. We cannot plan public transportation inefficiently and allow unloaded vehicles to travel. It is very important to use available funds efficiently, which is why traffic flows are constantly monitored. The implementation of the new electronic system will allow a more efficient and precise monitoring of passenger flows. During the quarantine period, the amount of subsidies granted by the municipality has increased significantly, so our objective is not to drastically reduce the intensity of public transport when passenger flows have decreased. Trips are reduced where there are alternatives and you can choose from several routes.
– Many people complain that the air conditioners in new buses do not work during the heat.
– New buses have air conditioners. In recent years many different instruments have been invested. The municipality has invested about 60 million. About 200 new buses and 85 new trolleybuses were purchased. Solaris buses, which were purchased in 2004-2005, do not have air conditioning, but others that were purchased in 2009 already have them, so it can sometimes give the false impression that new ones do not.
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