Public transport frustration: Jelgava–Riga commute can eat up two hours a day
A social media post about the slower public transport route from Jelgava to Riga has drawn broad agreement, with residents saying similar delays occur across Latvia.
Public transport should be convenient enough that people would willingly choose it instead of a private car. That would help cut pollution, reduce congestion and save money. Yet in Latvia, that level of comfort still seems out of reach, and social media users are increasingly voicing their disappointment.
A user of the Threads platform, Rūdolfs, shared his observation about living in Jelgava and working near the Riga airport or the Spice commercial area. He said that commuting by public transport takes an hour longer than by car. For anyone without access to a vehicle, that means two hours simply disappear every day.
Most commenters agreed that such a situation is not unusual. Similar problems occur in Riga, in the Pierīga area and elsewhere in Latvia. Several people shared their own examples, noting that on certain routes public transport takes several times longer than a private car.
Others pointed out that this is exactly why many people still prefer to drive. Daily travel is not only about duration — flexibility also matters. There were also pragmatic voices reminding that there will always be places where public transport is objectively slower than a car.
LA.LV has created a poll asking readers to assess the accessibility of public transport in Latvia, including how often they use it.
