Estonian bus operator Lux Express increases number of departures by almost 1/3 from May

  • 2021-05-03
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN – As of May 1, Estonian operator Lux Express added 138 new departures to its weekly schedule of bus services, increasing the total number of departures by about 28 percent.

Due to the growing interest of passengers, the gradual increase of volume will continue through spring and summer, the company said in April.

The CEO of Lux Express, Ingmar Roos, said on April 23 that the average load factor of buses was still below half.

"Nevertheless, we are proactively increasing the volume of departures so that people get back into the habit of moving between cities by bus. A wider choice of departures gives passengers the flexibility to travel comfortably and at the best time for them, not when the opportunity arises," Roos said.

According to the CEO, the company expects that the movement between cities will increase significantly at the beginning of the summer against the background of the virus receding. However, despite the increase in volume, more than half of Lux Express's bus fleet will still be waiting for a more active recovery of bus travel.

"However, if the demand for travel grows faster than forecast, we will be able to react quickly and launch additional departures," Roos added.

From May 1, eight daily departures were added on the Tallinn-Tartu-Tallinn route, six departures on the Tallinn-Parnu-Tallinn route, four departures between Tallinn and Kuressaare and Tallinn and Narva, two departures on the Tallinn-Haapsalu and Tallinn-Voru routes. Two departures between Tartu and Parnu were also added.

As a new feature, an additional departure under the Ekstra brand name was added to the Tallinn-Tartu-Tallinn route. Ekstra buses do not have the usual multimedia screens attached to the seat backrest nor do they have a coffee machine, but on the other hand, an affordable trip will be guaranteed on the weekend days with the highest demand.