The survey carried out by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) during the youth festival "Kopums" shows that young people most value amenities when travelling by public transport, including suitable routes and comfortable vehicles equipped with powerful free WiFi connection, bike racks, toilets and air conditioners.
The answers provided by young people show that the key to travel more by public transport on a daily basis is appropriate and convenient routes (33% of responses). As the second most important aspect, young people identified comfortable trains and buses (27% of answers). 20% of respondents have identified environmental concerns as motivation, while 17% of young people have indicated various types of public transport available in one place and a free parking space.
Young people are the population group that uses public transport on a daily basis more often than adults who have the opportunity to use private cars. Therefore, suitable public transport routes and amenities are more important in the day-to-day activities of young people.
This is the result of a comparison of the responses provided by young people with the results of the survey conducted by the MoT in May this year, in which residents indicated that various types of public transport available in one place and free parking space would motivate them to move by public transport on a daily basis (50% of the answers). This factor is indicated as the least important among young people.
It is expected that the greening reform of Riga and Pieriga public transport system initiated within the framework of the Recovery Fund (AF) and other projects financed by the European Union funds in the field of transport, including the purchase of new modern public transport vehicles, will contribute to changing daily travel habits in the long term and will bring Latvia closer to Europe's green goals.
MoT organised a "Sustainable mobility stop" at the youth festival "Kopums" on August, 2023 in Bauska in order to promote young people's awareness of sustainable mobility - safe, environmentally friendly and comfortable movement. In cooperation with "Road Traffic Safety Directorate" and "Latvijas Dzelzceļš", during the festival, young people were provided informative and educational activities. Participation in the "youth festival Kopums" and the survey were implemented with the support of Technical Assistance funding to the Ministry of Transport as the responsible institution for European Union funds in the 2021-2027 planning period of the European Union Cohesion Policy Program.
In total, 221 young people participated in the MoT survey conducted during the youth festival "Kopums". Meanwhile, there were 1,004 participants in the survey conducted by Norstat in May.
