Baltic States – CIS, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Tourism, Transport

Remmel indicated that the Covid-19 pandemic affected and is still affecting passenger services, as people's willingness to travel and use public transport decreased significantly already at the very start of the pandemic. Lux Express felt the most serious impact at the beginning of March when international passenger traffic was temporarily banned due to the coronavirus outbreak. Although the ban on passenger transportation within the Baltic states was lifted at the end of May, various restrictions still prevent Lux Express from reopening routes to Russia and Belarus. 

"People's willingness to travel is affected not only by restrictions in the transport industry but also in other areas - people do not travel because there are restrictions on public events, studies and business trips," Remmel said. 

During the first half of 2020, the bus company's turnover contracted by more than 40 percent.

Remmel said that during the first half of the year Lux Express carried 790,000 passengers, which is a reduction of 43 percent against the respective period last year. Compared to the summer period of last year, travel by residents of the Baltic states has decreased by 40 percent, as Estonians have reduced travel by 39 percent, Latvians by 46 percent and Lithuanians by 37 percent. 

Remmel noted however, that young people (up to 26 years old) are traveling as much as before the pandemic. Thanks to the "Baltic bubble", the number of young Finns traveling by Lux Express buses has jumped by 50 percent, the company's representative said.  

Remmel indicated that predicting future trends is not possible at the moment because everything depends on the epidemiological situation, which in Europe is highly changeable. If the fight against Covid-19 is successful, Lux Express expects its passenger numbers to return to pre-crisis levels by next summer. 

Lux Express Group is an international coach operator offering its services in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Belarus and Russia.

Lux Express Latvia was registered in 1994 and belongs to Lux Express Estonia.