The number of passengers between Tallinn and Tartu has grown to over half a million

This year, a record number of passengers—over 520,000—have traveled between Tartu and Tallinn with Lux Express. To meet the growing demand for travel, the company offers additional trips during peak hours, creating more than 1,000 extra seats per week.

In the first nine months of this year, 100,000 more passengers have traveled on the Tallinn-Tartu bus line compared to the same period last year. The total number of passengers, compared to different types of public transport, shows that for longer distances, people increasingly prefer buses. According to the bus company, there is a noticeable trend that people are choosing buses for intercity travel instead of using personal cars.

According to Lux Express CEO Ingmar Roos, it is important to ensure a sufficient number of seats, especially during peak times, such as weekends, days before public holidays, and during large events. 'We constantly monitor the number of available seats and deploy additional buses at times when the scheduled departures are not enough. In the second half of the year, we have also purchased additional buses and redistributed the fleet within the group to ensure we can offer at least 1,000 extra seats on the Tallinn-Tartu route every week without any state support.'

The busiest period during the past nine months for the bus company was during the Victory Day and Midsummer weekend, when operations had to be quickly reorganized, buses found, and drivers brought back from vacation to run 21 special trips over five days, transporting nearly 10,000 passengers between Tallinn and Tartu.

The full-hour trips departing 16 times a day from both Tallinn and Tartu continue to be very popular. The company is actively working to offer even more seats on these full-hour departures starting next year.

According to Ingmar Roos, the growth figures indicate the restored public confidence in shared mobility, which was heavily impacted during the COVID crisis. 'On the one hand, this growth is a natural development, as people increasingly want to travel between cities not by car, but by bus, which is more affordable, comfortable, and safer. On the other hand, the ongoing construction work on the Tallinn-Tartu railway has also contributed to the growth. It’s important to emphasize that despite frequent disruptions in rail service, passengers haven’t switched back to cars but are taking the bus instead. The goal of both trains and buses is the same—to reduce car usage and protect the environment,' Roos said optimistically.