Skip to main content

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

  • Europe’s EasyWay project accommodates political requirements
    May 29, 2013
    The EasyWay project has evolved to take account of political developments at the European level. By Jason Barnes The European Union’s (EU’s) EasyWay ITS deployment project has its roots in the ambitions of former European Commission President Jacques Delors with regard to truly international networks for energy, information and for transport. Definition of what became known as the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) began back in 1994 with seven working groups. They produced an R&D and policy framework
  • Transit’s Covid clean-up operation
    August 24, 2021
    The onset of Covid-19 saw ridership on public transport slump drastically. How will the organisations that provide these essential services persuade customers back on board?
  • Siemens Mobility is clearing the air
    October 2, 2020
    Tens of thousands of premature deaths in the UK alone are linked to air quality - but it doesn’t have to be that way. Siemens Mobility’s Wilke Reints explains why
  • Multi-modal transport system key to liveable city development
    June 20, 2012
    Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme aims to transform Kuala Lumpur into one of the world’s most liveable cities. Mohd Nur Kamal, CEO of SPAD, Malaysia’s Land Transport Commission, explains how a world class multi-modal transport system will be key to reaching that goal Superficially, Kuala Lumpur, or KL as it is commonly known, is the model of a vibrant, modern, cosmopolitan city to equal any in the world. The Petronas Twin Towers, an iconic global symbol of Malaysia, are surrounded by stunningly