Finance (economy) Estonia
Record high fuel prices in Estonia and the relaxation of pandemic restrictions have pushed long-distance public transport use to pre-pandemic levels. Compared to the beginning of the year, train company Elron has seen a 40 percent increase in passengers. "There is an increase on all routes, but if we compare with the pre-pandemic times, we see that the longer routes, Tallinn—Tartu, Tallinn—Narva, Tallinn—Viljandi, are the ones where the growth has been highest. We have more passengers there than there were before the pandemic," Elron sales manager Ronnie Kongo said. Coach company Lux Express has seen a 20 percent increase in passengers, board member Ingmar Roos told ERR. This is down to the pandemic but mostly rising fuel costs, he said. Sales on several routes this spring were still down by approximately 10 percent compared to 2019, but there has been a quick bounce-back due to fuel prices. "For example, Tartu—Pärnu, Tallinn—Pärnu, these are the lines where we hav...