Rīgas Satiksme

Rīgas Satiksme

File:Riga rs logo.png
Company type	city municipality owned corporation
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	2003
Headquarters	Riga , Latvia
Area served	Riga
Revenue	184,043,510 Euro (2023)
Net income	1,838,083 Euro (2023)
Total assets	493,448,283 Euro (2023)
Number of employees	3,323 (2023)
Parent	N/A
Website	www.rigassatiksme.lv

Rīgas Satiksme (English: Riga Transport) is a limited liability company of Riga municipality which operates public transport and vehicle hire in the Latvian capital Riga and its surrounding areas. The organisation's principal activities involve the operation of the city's 476 buses, 354 trolleybuses and 267 trams. It is also responsible for the operation of the city's car parks. It currently employs nearly 5000 staff members.

History

Rīgas Satiksme was founded on February 20, 2003 as an umbrella organisation for the respective operators of trams, buses and trolleybuses in the city of Riga. Two years later, the separate operators of the different modes of public transport were merged and re-branded as Rīgas Satiksme, making it the largest provider of public transport in Riga.

Buses

Various buses

In 2005 Rīgas Satiksme was responsible for the operation of some 460 buses on a total of 57 routes across the city and its suburbs, as well as 15 regional routes connecting Riga with its surrounding towns.

Livery

All buses are painted blue and white except Ikarus E91's which are yellow.

Trolleybuses

Solaris trolleybus in Riga streets

Škoda trolleybus

Various trolleybuses and regional express buses

The first trolleybuses in Riga entered service in 1947, using a portion of the budget initially set aside for the new tramway, with the intention of moving slightly slower trams away from the city centre to allow for faster trolleybuses. The service was operated initially by Soviet-built units, although these were later replaced by Škoda vehicles brought in from Czechoslovakia. Conductors remained on trolleybuses for 5 years after they disappeared from the buses, with electronic ticket machines replacing them in 1975. Conductors were re-introduced on the trolleybus network in 1997. From 2007 new electric ticket machines were installed and conductors disappeared. In 2009 electronic ticket machines were replaced with e-tickets (E-talons).

Rīgas Satiksme is responsible for the operation of 19 trolleybus routes throughout the city.

Trolleybus routes

Number	Start point	End point
1	Pētersalas Street	Valmieras Street
3	Riga Central Market	Sarkandaugava
5	Daugavas Stadium	Riga Clinical Hospital
9	Iļģuciems	Riga Central Station
11	Ieriķu Street	Riga Central Station
12	Šmerlis	Āgenskalna priedes
13	Ieriķu Street	Riga Central Market
14	Mežciems	Esplanāde
15	Ķengarags	Latvian University
16	Šmerlis	Pļavnieki
17	Purvciems	Riga Central Station
18	Mežciems	Riga Central Station
19	Pētersalas Street	Ziepniekkalns
20	Latvian Television	Latvian University
22	Katlakalna Street	E. Birznieka Upīša Street
23	Purvciems	Riga Central Station
24	Pētersalas Street	A/S "Dzintars"
25	Iļģuciems	Brīvības Street
27	Ziepniekkalns	Riga Central Station

Livery

Trolleybuses are painted in the same blue and white colours as buses, although some carry advertising. Older trolleybuses still hold the old TTP two tone blue and white.

Trams

Škoda 15 T in Riga streets

A tram in Riga covered with advertisements

Trams have been in operation in Riga longer than any other mode of public transport, with the first horse-drawn trams entering service in 1882. In 1900 it was agreed that a number of electric tram lines would be built in the city, with the first electric trams starting operation in 1901. Tram construction continued until the outbreak of World War I. Operation of the tramways remained largely unchanged until 1918 and the emergence for the first time of Latvia as an independent nation, when a Belgian company took over. This period of private ownership was deemed a failure, and the city authorities regained control of the tram network in 1931. World War II devastated Riga's public transport system, and it was gradually re-built to its current level.

In 2002, Rīgas Vagonbūves Rūpnīca signed an agreement with the Mayor of Riga which would see the company replace the trams in Riga once their period of operation ended in 2010. The new trams would have offered enhanced comfort and safety, as well as would be far quieter than the city's current fleet of elderly ČKD Tatra units.

According to RVR they would have featured bright and spacious interiors and would have been 20-30% more power efficient than their predecessors. The new units were expected to be produced at a rate of 15-20 per year and would have resulted in a gradual phasing out of the Tatra tramcars. Instead, 20 Škoda 15 T trams were built for Riga and entered service in spring 2010.

Tram lines

Number	Start point	End point
1	Jugla	Imanta
2	Tapešu Street	Riga Central Market
3	Shopping Center "Dole"	Jugla
4	Imanta	Riga Central Market
5	Iļģuciems	Mīlgrāvis
6	Jugla	Ausekļa Street
7	Shopping Center "Dole"	Ausekļa Street
9	Shopping Center "Dole"	A/S "Aldaris"
10	Bišumuiža	Riga Central Market
11	Mežaparks	Ausekļa Street

Fares

A flat fare (applies from 1 February 2015) of 1.15 EUR per single journey ( 2.00 EUR, if bought from the driver) applies on all Rīgas Satiksme bus, tram and trolleybus services within the city boundaries. Fares on the regional bus routes vary depending on the journey destination.

The method of fare collection on public transport in Riga was by conductor since 1996, and indeed this practice was widespread on buses operated by Rīgas Satiksme even after conductors were phased out in trams and trolleybuses.

See also

• Pasažieru Vilciens (Commuter rail & national passenger rail)
  
• Riga International Coach Terminal

External links

• Official website in Latvian
• Official website in English