Promises are made, but there is no money — bus drivers are leaving the industry 0 12

“The application of fines by the state does not address the root causes of the problem, but only exacerbates the situation. The minimum tariff rate set by the state at 5.50 euros per hour (gross), in effect for five years, does not correspond to labor market conditions, and bus drivers prefer to work in other sectors. This distortion of the wage system has led to a situation where carriers are forced to cancel bus routes. Even the ATD recognizes the problem, as in new contracts the hourly rate for drivers is already almost twice as high. Therefore, it is important that funding for increasing drivers' salaries under existing long-term contracts is included in the budget for next year,” stated Ivo Ošenieks, president of the Latvian Passenger Carriers Association.

Last week, the Latvian Trade Union of Public Services and Transport sent an open letter to Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, drawing attention to the critical situation in the public transport sector and the low wages of bus drivers, which do not provide them with social guarantees and meet basic needs, as well as violate their rights by the state.

“We, as a union, urge the government to act immediately to ensure fair funding and respectful treatment of the workers who provide public transport services across Latvia every day. Currently, the state distributes salaries to drivers: some receive 5.50 euros per hour for the same work, while others receive 12 euros. So far, there has been nothing from the Ministry of Transport except empty promises — to find funds that could be included in the 2026 budget for bus drivers providing public transport services on regional routes. To date, there has been no response to these promises or an assessment of the necessary amount, although the union prepared it in one day,” said Inga Veiņa, chairwoman of the board of LAKRS.

The Passenger Carriers Association sent a letter to Minister of Transport Aitis Švinkes in early October, urging changes to regulations to increase wages for bus drivers working on regional routes, thereby effectively reducing the driver shortage and the risk of canceled routes.

To ensure bus services on regional routes, carriers are already forced to pay drivers wages close to the current economic situation. However, the state has not compensated for wage increases for four years, leading to significant financial losses for passenger carriers. Moreover, this is unfair, as in similar tenders announced by the ATD for providing public transport services by buses on regional routes, the average gross hourly rate for drivers is not stated below 9.14 euros.

The association and the LAKRS union point out that at the time of the tender announcement in 2019, the mandatory minimum social requirements of the ATD did not correspond to the market situation and average indicators in the industry. This misled service providers regarding potential costs in subsequent years. For bus drivers, a minimum hourly tariff rate (gross) of 5.5 euros was established for the time spent driving the vehicle, according to the regulation developed by the ATD. Until August of this year, it was 5.00 euros, and it is planned to increase it to 6.05 euros by 2028.

According to data from the Central Statistical Bureau, in the second quarter of this year, the average monthly gross salary in the country was 1808 euros. At the same time, the average gross hourly rate was 12.69 euros, which means that the minimum hourly rate set by the ATD for bus drivers at 5.50 euros is extremely undervalued and does not correspond to the current market situation. The increase in rates has objective reasons that carriers could not foresee when preparing their proposals.