On route No. 31, half of the buses are 100-seater. But leaving Narva for Narva-Jõesuu is still difficult

2023-08-11 09:25:24

From Narva-Jõesuu to Narva, it is also not easy to go to Narva, either on a weekday or on weekends, especially if the weather is warm. Photo: Svetlana Zaitseva

The theme of the trip on summer days in good weather along route No. 31 from Narva to Narva-Jõesuu and back, one might say, from the category of “eternal”. As in the past, so this year the editors receive letters and calls with emotional stories “how we went to the sea”, followed by questions.

Why are there so few buses on the route; why boarding the bus is only through the front door; why the driver does not let everyone on the bus who wants to leave; why the driver sometimes ignores the stops, although there are people standing on them; is there any limit on boarding the bus and how it is determined; should the driver regulate the movement of passengers on the bus, offering them to go deeper into the bus and not leave the situation when everyone is crowding at the entrance?

Head of the Ida-Viru Ühistranspordikeskus (Ida-Viru ÜTK) Heiki Luts answers questions from readers:

– Of course, it is not news to us that in hot summer weather, the whole of Narva tends to get to the Narva-Jõesuu beach. We tried, but could not find any logic or pattern regarding what time of day people most want to go to Narva-Jõesuu. Perhaps, under the same weather conditions and sea water temperature, people rest there at different times of the day.

Just like in passenger cars, buses have a certain number of seats provided by bus manufacturers. By law and from a safety point of view, there should not be more passengers on the bus.

If we see that 50 people have already boarded at the starting stop – Narva Station, we urgently let out a reserve bus.

Our new buses have 68 seats, which is 10 seats less than in the old ones – the new ones are made in accordance with European standards in order to ensure the comfort of passengers. But this summer, at least half of the routes to Narva-Jõesuu are served by 100-seater buses, which have more standing space.

The number of passengers on the bus is calculated by the number of tickets sold. As a rule, during the peak season there are more than 70 people on the buses.
If, nevertheless, the bus driver picks up more passengers than there are seats on the bus, then in this case he is personally responsible for this and must understand that he is breaking the law. The management of Ida-Viru ÜTK once again reminded drivers of the rules of their behavior in such situations.

Even if there are no more seats on the bus, the driver must stop at bus stops so that those waiting can see that the bus is full. But at the same time he has the right not to open the door. We decided not to put up the “No Places” sign.

Drivers are not obliged, but they try to regulate the movement of passengers around the cabin, urging them not to stop at the door, let others go to the exit, and so on. But, unfortunately, very often their requests go unheeded.
Two or three years ago, we launched additional flights on route No. 31 – at 11.40 in the morning, at 5, 6.7 pm. But I must say, these additional flights were lightly loaded. Last year, I came out with a proposal to the leadership of Narva: let’s add flights that Narva will finance. But Narva refused.

Last year and the year before last, we kept an additional bus for the route to Narva-Jõesuu. If they saw that 50 people had already boarded at the starting stop – Narva Station, they urgently released a backup bus. We are not doing this this year.

I also answer the question why, since last autumn, the entrance to the bus has been carried out only through the front door. Because this way we get a more accurate overview of the bus load – we need to have it when we petition the state for funds. As our experience has shown, 40% of passengers entering the bus through the second door ignore the installed validators and thereby distort the true picture.

The post On route number 31, half of the buses are 100-seater. But leaving Narva for Narva-Jõesuu is still difficult first appeared on gazeta.ee.