TALLINN, April 11 (LETA--ERR) - Public transport providers at the Estonia-Latvia border want to open two cross-border bus routes on a test basis this summer, with Estonia is footing the bill for the routes, at least initially, Estonian public television reported.

The bus service is planned on the Parnu-Ikla, Ainazi and Valga-Valka routes.

The cross-border routes were initially planned for last summer, with five routes to launch. However, this had to be scaled down after Latvia lacked funding for all the routes.

The temporary lines will run for one year, with the goal of reaching an agreement with Latvian authorities on a potential continuation.

Andrus Karpuk, head of the Parnu County public transport center said: "Originally, we wanted to open cross-border bus routes along the entire Estonian border - from [east to west] Voru-Aluksne, Valga-Valka, Viljandi-Valmiera, Kilingi-Nomme, Valmiera, and Parnu-Ikla-Salacgriva. However, Latvian partners, due to their national structure, cannot finance all these services. As a result, we had to hold all funding from the Estonian side, increasing the required sum and reducing the number of routes."

"So, we plan to open the Valga-Valka and Parnu-Ikla-Ainazi routes at the start of summer. The procurement for Ikla-Ainazi is complete, the contract signed, and Valga-Valka will undergo a second round for a better price," Karpuk added. He remained optimistic about the Estonian-led link continuing.

He said: "The long-term plan is for no interruption after this trial period, with normal traffic continuing based on schedules meeting actual needs."

Up to now, cross-border transport was mostly confined to longer-distance commercial lines. In Estonia, rural bus routes are organized on a county-by-county basis.

A passenger train service between Riga and Tartu is also planned to start this year. The Vilnius-Riga-Tallinn passenger train link launched earlier this year.