Tallinn's public transport reform has drastically reduced Ülemiste City's accessibility. The most problematic change was the cancellation of bus line 64, removing an essential and efficient connection for a significant number of people commuting from Väike-Õismäe and Mustamäe.
Ülemiste City is a destination for 17,000 people who live, work, or study there, many of whom rely on public transportation to commute. The temporary closure of the airport tram line already negatively impacted the area's accessibility, pushing many back into cars. Before the tram line closure, 92% of the community was satisfied with Ülemiste City's accessibility. However, last year satisfaction dropped by 14 percentage points, with 5% of the community switching back to cars.
With the recent public transport network reform implemented in October 2024, many key connections were severed, making the commute to Ülemiste City significantly longer and less convenient. Within the first week of the reform, nearly a hundred businesses, whose offices collectively welcome over 2,000 people daily from the critical Väike-Õismäe–Mustamäe direction, appealed to the developer of Ülemiste City to restore this vital bus connection.
Although rerouting bus line 13 through Ülemiste City provides a connection from Väike-Õismäe and Mustamäe throughout the day and on weekends, the travel time is over 10 minutes longer with more stops (18 vs 13) than on line 64. While it was initially promised that bus 13 would take only 4 minutes longer than the cancelled line 64, this turned out to be untrue. According to the current schedule, bus 13 takes 47 minutes during morning rush hour to travel from Väike-Õismäe to the Lõõtsa stop, compared to 36 minutes for bus 64.
Morning commute time is a critical factor influencing whether people stick to public transport or switch to cars. The removal of express lines between large residential areas has already shown negative outcomes in various European cities in recent years. We should not repeat these mistakes.
Prior to the reorganization, multiple meetings were held with the Tallinn Transport Department and the Deputy Mayor, during which we presented our views. Additionally, we promptly sent written proposals upon receiving the final list of new stops. Unfortunately, these suggestions were not considered.
Therefore, as the next step, we propose collecting the necessary number of signatures to restore bus line 64 on the Ülemiste City–Väike-Õismäe route.