Lux Express considers legal action against the Latvian state

Lux Express is considering taking legal action against the Latvian state. 

Despite the Ministry of Transport’s (MoT) expressed intention to resolve the long-standing issue regarding compensation, the company has received a rejection from the Road Transport Administration (RTA) —an agency under the MoT — refusing to compensate losses incurred from providing fare discounts on commercial routes within Latvia, the company reported.

Since launching regional commercial routes, Lux Express has transported over 69,000 passengers for free under state - issued fare concessions but has not received any compensation. This has resulted in losses exceeding half a million euros.

"To date, we’ve done everything possible to reach a mutual solution through negotiations, but once again we’ve received a rejection from the RTA to compensate for the losses, citing the absence of a legal framework for calculating and issuing such payments," said Aldis Ķibēns, board member of Lux Express Latvia.

He added that the RTA’s position is incomprehensible for several reasons. Firstly, the current compensation claim is based on European Union regulations and a ruling by the European Court of Justice, which mandates that member states must reimburse public service providers for losses incurred due to complying with state-imposed concessions. Secondly, the resolution of this compensation issue is supported by the MoT, including the minister himself, as confirmed in communications with Lux Express.

"The official response we received from the RTA, in which our compensation request is denied, has left us with no further options for negotiation. Up until now, we’ve only received unfulfilled promises—for example, prior to launching the regional route Liepāja–Riga–Daugavpils in May of last year, we were given verbal assurances that a compensation framework would be established. However, over a year later, this issue remains unresolved. Unfortunately, the rejection letter sent by the RTA on June 18 has started a 30-day countdown, after which we are compelled to take the matter to court to protect our rights," says Ķibēns, pointing out that the company remains open to potential solutions.

“We still hope the RTA will act according to Latvian and EU regulations and ensure payment of the legally mandated compensation, as also indicated by the MoT. Resolving this issue would help attract more high-quality commercial transport operators to Latvian routes. In our opinion, by not resolving this matter, the RTA is hindering the implementation of the 2026 public transport policy guidelines, which call for reduced subsidized services and greater focus on commercial transportation,” says Lux Express Latvia board member.

It was previously reported that Lux Express submitted an official request to the MoT seeking compensation for losses caused by fare concessions on commercial routes in Latvia. This was the company’s second formal letter of this kind to state authorities. The MoT instructed the RTA to re-evaluate Lux Express’s compensation claim.

Due to high demand, Lux Express recently increased the number of trips on the Riga–Liepāja route to 11 daily departures in each direction. All routes between Riga–Liepāja and Liepāja–Daugavpils are operated using “Irizar i6s Efficient” buses manufactured in 2023, offering one of the highest comfort levels in the industry. Additionally, all buses are equipped with toilets, Wi-Fi, media screens with Latvian-language content, and free hot drinks.