In Latvia, the number of regional bus routes is gradually decreasing - fewer residents mean lower passenger traffic, resulting in some routes becoming unprofitable, public media reports.
This will also affect the residents of Selia, but they do not plan to stand aside - they will gather their experiences and recommendations to present them to the Ministry of Transport and the Road Transport Administration (RTA).
Ligita Vecvagare has been working as a physician's assistant at the Aknīste Psychoneurological Hospital for 10 years and lives about seven kilometers from her workplace. Her transportation to work is now at risk, as next year the regional route network will be reduced and the bus service she uses daily to get to work and back home will be discontinued.
"I have been using this bus for all these 10 years. It was, of course, very unpleasant to learn about these changes," the woman said.
Ligita noted that the bus does not travel empty in the mornings - on average, there are about five passengers, more in winter. RTA representative Viktor Zakis explained that an assessment of the proposed changes is currently underway to ensure that the movement of schoolchildren and workers is not disrupted: "The route network is not static - it is constantly changing and adapting to the needs that are identified at a specific moment."
Aknīste hosts the largest boat rental in Selia, which also noted that large-scale changes will affect the flow of customers.
"This issue concerns us greatly, and we are certainly against the reduction of [services] as such. We are for innovation and flexible thinking. But what is happening now is simply - we are closing it down, and that's it. Period," said the head of the "Sēlijas laivas" society, Santa Šmite.
As one of the solutions, public transport or on-demand transport is proposed. However, it is important for residents to voice their ideas aloud, Zakis noted:
"Suggestions are welcome, and many of those that are justified and can be implemented will be implemented."
The local society "Sēlijas salas" has taken the initiative and calls on local residents to express their opinions, which will then be forwarded for discussion with the RTA and the Ministry of Transport.
"This may no longer be a story about specific routes or specific localities, but about the situation as a whole - what attitude the Latvian state demonstrates towards rural residents and places where various services are already being reduced both by the state and local governments," explained the representative of the community cooperation network "Sēlijas salas," Jānis Dzimtājs.
The reduction of the network is happening gradually throughout Latvia. Next year, the volume of services may decrease by 16%, of which only 6% are considered unprofitable. The rest are planned to be redirected from regional public transport to commercial routes.
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