Riga, Oct 17 (LETA) - The planned 16 percent reduction of the regional public transport network next year will significantly affect the mobility of people in rural areas, especially in places where public transport is the only means of transport, representatives of the Latvian Rural Forum told LETA.

The association has sent a letter to the Transport Ministry and the Road Transport Directorate (ATD), calling for a weighed approach to public transport reform.

The association stresses that the decision was taken without sufficient data analysis and discussion with regions and citizens. The organization therefore calls for changes to be introduced only after an assessment of passenger flows, pupil transport, demographic and service availability data, and agreement with planning regions and municipalities.

At the same time, the association notes that if network reductions are to be implemented, there must be an alternative system, such as on-demand transport or shared solutions, so that people's mobility is not hindered.

Accordingly, the Latvian Rural Forum calls on the Transport Ministry to postpone the reduction of routes until decisions based on data and agreements have been taken and a long-term public transport strategy has been developed, involving planning regions, NGOs, local authorities and transport operators.

In the view of the organization, such a strategy would help long-term mobility planning, provide predictability for citizens and stability for service providers.

As reported, the subsidized regional bus route network is planned to reach 56.145 million kilometers next year, which is 11.06 million kilometers or 16 percent less than the forecast for 2025.

It is foreseen that in each part of the route network, the routes or parts of the routes with low profitability and low passenger performance will be reduced. At the same time, ATD has included proposals for bus routes and services that could potentially be operated on a commercial basis.

Meanwhile, the projected train route network in 2026 will be 8.045 million kilometers, or 630,937 kilometers or 7.3 percent less than the 2025 projection. For example, on the Riga-Jelgava line, the 60-minute interval will be maintained next year instead of the previously planned 30 minutes.

At the same time, regional public transport fares will increase from January 15, 2026. In train services, the fare will increase by an average of 6.6 percent, and in bus services by around 7.5 percent.

The Latvian Rural Forum has 82 Latvian non-governmental organizations as members. Its main priorities are to foster a favorable environment for the development of civil society in rural areas and to promote coordinated and strategic rural development.