Ecology, Estonia, Good for Business, Markets and Companies, Transport

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications on Monday introduced to the public the initial version of the new transport and mobility development plan, by which Estonia wishes to move closer to a greener, smarter and safer transport infrastructure. 

For the preparation of the development plan, the ministry organized inclusion events across Estonia over the past 18 months to learn about the positions of target groups and map the general opinion concerning the development of the transport sector.  

Johann Peetre, expert at the ministry's department for transport development and investments, said at the press event that the development plan currently is in a phase where it will be forwarded to other ministries, the Government Office and partners for endorsements and comments.

The development plan seeks to raise the proportion of people going to work by public transport, by bike or by foot from 38% to 45-55% in Estonia. A second focus of the development plan is raising the speeds on the railway.

The third focus, according to the ministry, is the development of highways to reduce the amounts of time necessary to get from one place to another and increase safety on the roads. The goal is to halve the numbers of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic.

The development plan also sets out the goal to make the maritime transport sector more competitive and greener and connect it with other infrastructure. The objectives in maritime transport include bringing 50 ships under the Estonian flag.

In addition, according to the development plan, air connections will be preserved to ensure the competitive ability of the economy. That will include developing new lines of business and keeping from 40 to 55 regular air services in operation round the year.

The actions listed in the development also include the establishment of a national mobility authority, establishment of infrastructure suitable for active kinds of mobility, organization of ticket sales across sectors of transport and zonal ticket sales, developing of Rail Baltic and designated spatial plans, surfacing of gravel roads, and applying the "polluter pays" principle.