Tallinn to have free public transport from 2013

A public referendum held in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, supported a plan to make the city's public transport system free of charge. Altogether 68,059 people took part in the referendum, which was just around a fifth of all eligible voters in Tallinn. In the referendum, 75.5 per cent supported and 24.5 per cent were against the idea of free public transport.
March 28, 2012 Read time: 1 min
RSSA public referendum held in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, supported a plan to make the city's public transport system free of charge. Altogether 68,059 people took part in the referendum, which was just around a fifth of all eligible voters in Tallinn.

In the referendum, 75.5 per cent supported and 24.5 per cent were against the idea of free public transport.

Edgar Savisaar, mayor of Tallinn, said the result of the referendum was sufficient to begin preparing the plan. He said Tallinn would get free public transport as of 1 January 2013. The city government would bring the plan to the city council in September 2012 and in November it would begin talks with other municipalities on joining the free public transport system.

The opposition Reform Party has accused the city government of populism, saying the city had other urgent issues to address.

Related Content

  • Covid-19 cleared the air: ITS can keep it clean
    July 31, 2020
    Covid-19 has created cleaner air: ITS can help keep it that way – but it’s not going to be straightforward, as Graham Anderson discovers
    Read More
  • Study finds support for toll express lanes, less for mileage charges
    September 16, 2013
    A new report by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (MWCOG) finds that support for a toll managed lanes network grows somewhat the more it is discussed, whereas a vehicle miles travelled charge loses support after discussion. Among 300 people who participated in five-hour moderated small group discussions of alternative ways of dealing with traffic congestion in the Washington DC metro area, toll express lanes on all major highways receiv
    Read More
  • Smart transport systems investment will continue to grow despite public sector cuts
    May 30, 2012
    The ITS sector is now going through an evolution driven by the maturation of communications technologies and their increasing adoption in major cities worldwide. The widespread availability of high-speed networks, both fixed and wireless, along with the ability to embed intelligence in physical objects throughout the urban environment and the diffusion of mobile devices that can send and receive real-time vehicle or infrastructure information, is driving the adoption of smart transportation systems in citie
    Read More
  • Debating road user charging systems
    January 26, 2012
    Are pre-launch trials of charging systems the way to improve public acceptance? Or is the real key a more robust political attitude? Here, leading system suppliers discuss the issue. The use of distance-based Road User Charging (RUC) is now well established, at least for heavy goods vehicles on strategic roads. However demand management for all vehicles, whether a distance-based charge or some form of cordon scheme, has yet to make significant progress. This is in spite of the logic and equity of RUC being
    Read More

Highlighted Content