Public transport now free for residents of Tallinn

Date: 2/1/2013

All of those registered as official residents of the Estonian city of Tallinn can use public transport to get around for free.

Motivated by environmental and social concerns, the authorities and the capital city implemented the plan for the beginning of the New Year as part of a wider overhaul of the system.

There will no longer be paper tickets and farecards available with those needing to pay for travel to use a relatively new e-ticketing system instead.

In order to travel for free on buses, trams and trolleybuses, adult Estonians must be registered as residents of the city on the Population Register.

Then they will be given a card known as an ühiskaart, which must be validated each time they enter a public transport vehicle.

This card will only be accepted for inspection when it is accompanied by an identity document that verifies the holder as a citizen of the city.

For pupils and students under the age of 19 who reside anywhere in Estonia, there is also free travel in the capital.

They also must be on the Population Register, but it does not matter which part of the country they live in with regards to using public transport without a fee.

The ühiskaart can also be used on Harju County public transport routes, which are integrated with those that run in Tallinn.

Introducing the new system has been done gradually with the free fares coming into force on New Year's Day.

A count of the number of residents with the ühiskaart in late December found that around 150,000 of the cards had been obtained.

As the first capital city in Europe to offer free travel on public transport, many are looking to see whether it will encourage people to leave their cars at home and if it is a success other cities could follow in Tallinn's example.

Posted by Nick Anderson

International Transport News and Sustainable Transport News