Latvija in brief

Artful Dodgers

In October this year, 7,584 passengers were caught using public transport services without tickets in the Latvian capital Riga, an increase of 65.3 per cent or 2,997  fare-dodgers compared to the previous month, Rigas Satiksme municipal public transport company stated.
Rigas Satiksme spokesman Viktors Zakis said that 3,290 ticketless passengers were caught in buses, 2,432 in trolleybuses, and 1,862 in trams. Of these fare-dodgers, 1,614 paid their fines right away and 5,970 were issued fine receipts.

Rigas Satiksme ticket inspectors conducted 22,208 inspections in October this year, which was a 8.6 per cent increase or 1,757 inspections more than in September. The highest number of inspections was conducted in buses (10,778), followed by trolleybuses (7,181) and trams (4,249).

In September 2015, Rigas Satiksme ticket inspectors carried out 20,451 inspections and caught 4,587 ticketless passengers.

Rigas Satiksme, which is fully owned by the Riga City Council, provides bus, tram, and trolleybus services to passengers in Riga.