"Among The Worst In Europe?" Evaluating Vilnius Public Transportation
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- čas přidán 28. 10. 2023
- Awhile back I put out a video discussing things that made Lithuania seem futuristic and mentioned that Vilnius’ old trolleybuses were the opposite of futuristic. One person commented that public transport in Lithuania is among the worst in Europe and that this was a measurable objective reality. This video unpacks that statement and examines Vilnius transportation.
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Ottawa tram issues: • Ottawa commuters frust...
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Latvian here, I really miss the old Škoda trolleybuses. Every time I visit Vilnius I get transported back to my childhood! The sound those electric motors make when accelerating is so iconic.
Oh, dude, Ill miss that sounds when its gone...
Good to hear that you are alive
You wouldn't miss them if you had to ride them twice a day
They sound like TIE fighters to me. When I have the windows open in the summer, I can hear them in the street.
@@yato3335 I ride them multiple times a day and they're great.
I think you nailed the main point in the end. from a north american point of view, Vilnius' public transport system seems really decent, but from an european perspective, it's definitely lacking, especially for a capital city.
You probably would be depressed to see what it was 15 years ago. Today public transport is fast, affordable and frequent.
Also, it is worth noting that Vilnius could in fact have a commuter railway system. It is perfectly viable to have hourly or half-hourly services like Naujoji Vilnia-Vilnius-Lentvaris-Trakai (or Vievis instead of trakai). Sure, it wouldn't be the best commuter rail system since most densely populated areas of Vilnius would be left out, but at least it would give a rationale to develop areas around the railway line. Now we have an underused railway and people relying solely on cars to get anywhere even if they DO live near one of existing railway stations. This is beyound absurd.
Also, I'd like to add on the Lithuanian Passenger Rail is the lack of trains. I know so many places where there should be like, an hourly service, but there are only 4 trains a day. Or sometimes, there is infrastructure, but no passenger trains, while there should definitely be one. Plus, it's definitely not convenient going anywhere using the train in Lithuania, because you have to do ridiculous transfers. For example, you can't go from Kaunas to Klaipeda directly: you have to transfer in Vilnius first. Moreover, most stations are lacking information screens, or just feel like they are abandoned or falling into disrepair.
Absolutely. The "lack of trains" is only a symptom though. The core reason is lack of understanding and willingness to provide a civilized and efficient service for people. One example would be Kaunas-Šiauliai service. Should be running AT LEAST every 2 hours. Now there is ONE direct train per day. Same with Vilnius-Trakai, Šiauliai-Panevėžys and many other routes@@jean-michelcortade8679
I honestly find old trolleys and buses nostalgic and kind of aesthetic i dont know why lol
I do too ❤
I can sell you 40 sq m flat in old soviet building for 250 000 €
It’s nostalgic!!!
Wanna buy rusty Lada for 50 000 €
Nostalgic!
Old czechoslovak trolleybuses, love them!
They're very nicely designed and built. Would be even nicer if we took good care of them lol.
Becoming a frequent commenter here, but I have a few takeaways about this video. First of all, being a student, I have used A LOT of public transport. In Lithuania, Belgium and the Netherlands. Specifically talking about busses, both Belgium and the Netherlands are not great. Obviously there is some bias, but just to name a few things: Price of tickets are 2-3 times more expensive than in Lithuania; The Flemish Delijn, which I sadly had to rely on, is super unreliable in terms of time. Me and my friends literally used to joke about the "ghost busses", busses that were scheduled to come, but never did. Making you wait over an hour to catch the next bus; Similar thing can be said about some Dutch busses too, its literally impossible to know when the bus will come, because they simply dont stop at all stops, meaning they may be 4 maybe even 5 minutes early and wont even stop. So while my Lithuanian family complains about transport in Vilnius, I keep telling them that they have no idea how good it is in Vilnius. Most busses are frequent. The city is kind of small so you will always have a bus stop 15 minute walk from your doorstep. Here in Brussels for example, yes there are metros and trams, making inner city commutes really quick, but with the location of my old school, if I did not make it for the last tram, I was literally stuck. In cases of going out with friends, forget it, last tram is at 11.30pm. Now the night transport of Vilnius does not even come close to something like Barcelona, but I think a walkable city like Vilnius, has a quite an alright public transport system.
Which cities in the NL and BE have you been living in?
I live in Kaunas, and have been in Lithuania for over an year. Indeed, I see here a heavy dependency on cars, specially if you compare other European cities. Before Kaunas, I lived in Sibiu, Romania. There, I did not need a car to go anywhere in the city or to work. It even had an App where you can find the destination and which bus to take. Sibiu has 135K people, against 500K from Vilnius.
It’s not easy to compare cities, but in short, Lithuania in general needs to invest more in public transportation and roads! Too many cars in the streets.
I think the best transportation system we had was when private minibuses was a thing. Then we used way less cars compared to now. Why I personally don't use a bus is TIME. There are no direct routes to my workplace from where I live. I would have to take switch buses or one that takes about 1h to get to my destination. Now that I use a car it takes me 15-20 minutes to drive to work. I couldn't take a 3h commute times everyday to work. It takes me about the same amount of time to drive from Kaunas to Vilnius in the same time it took me to go to work.
Well, I think that the city of Vilnius has only a bus/trolleybus network means that within the EU it is one of the largest cities without any serious heavier transport network (trams, light rail, metro, or even bus rapid transit (BRT)). Even if in many regions outside Europe it would be still considered a good network, it won't impress many people here. I know only one larger city in the EU with busses only (Thessaloniki in Greece), but they are building underground there, just it has over a decade of delay. I guess this is the main reason for this assumption ;)
Jeśli miasto przekroczyło milion mieszkańców, możesz pomyśleć o metrze
Few tram lines would be good to have. Metro in Vilnius would be detrimental - we don't have enough population for it to be sustainable.
Vilnius is dying without a metro. If I want to go to my home in the suburbs to the "main" hospital, I have to sit on a bus for 2 hours, sometimes longer, cuz of traffic jams. This wouldn't be the case with a metro.
@@linasma235 Cluj-Napoca is building a metro with only 285 000 inhabitants. Malta with only less than 300 000 on its' main island will built a metro soon too. So thinking of metro one can start already when the city is larger than 250 000.
@@fidenemini111 Cluj-Napoca is building a metro with only 285 000 inhabitants. Malta with only less than 300 000 on its' main island will built a metro soon too. What are you talking about, Willis? Vilnius have an official population of 633 thousand, but in the polyclinics of the city are registered more than 700 thousand people, plus additional 100 thousand in Vilnius district municipality. Do you say, that Cluj-Napoca with 285k does have enough passengers, but Vilnius with 800k in the urban area, does not? Wake up and smell the coffee! Get your facts straight!
I went to Vilnius last year and i was surprised that it had no trams on it's streets. It's so easy to build the tram network. They don't pollute and they can take lots of passengers comparing to buses. I'm from Mazury region in Poland. And it's capital city called Olsztyn which has only 180.000 inhabitians built it's tram network recently from the scratch. 11km opened in 2015 and another 8km in the beginning of 2024 been opened. So it shows how quickly you can improve cities public transport network in a short perioid of time. You can also think about building a "fast tram" which is a lighter version of a metro or a pre metro.
I haven't been to Vilnius for about 10 years now, but back then your public transport felt about the same quality as in Riga. I don't know how things are today, and I live in the UK for 8 years now, but there are big differences between London public transport and Riga public transport. I believe some of these points can apply to Vilnius as well.
Some good points first. Transport in Riga in general is cleaner and nicer, unless you get in a bus/tram with a smelly alcoholic. London buses and trains are just filthy. And are rarely washed if at all.
Transport itself is more or less new and uniform across the city in Riga. London has loads of different bus models, train models and that can be very confusing, especially for newcomers and tourists. Sometimes you can get into the rear door of the bus, sometimes you cannot. Sometimes they have two floors, sometimes only one. Somethis this, sometimes that. You get used to it over time, but it can very, very confusing. Riga and Vilnius are much better in his regard.
Buses specifically are better quality in Riga. London buses, even the new ones, feel like they were built in 1950-s: loud, jerky, no suspension, bad seats, they are just plain bad. Except for new eleltric buses, these are amazing, but rare.
But London transport is much better overall! While it can be very expensive, it can also be cheaper than in Riga.
Timetables, especially during rush hour, are very tight: tube trains every minute, buses every 5 minutes, you don't have to wait for your ride, just get to the stop and off you go in a few minutes! There are some exceptions: there's usually reduced service on Sundays, and some bus routes are barely used, so you might only see a bus every 20-30 minutes on Sunday there. But overall it's much better than waiting 30-40 minutes for bus #21 in Riga during rush hour.
Accessibility is also important. Riga gives zero hecks about disabled people, but here in London you can take any type of transport if you're disabled. You can even book an assistant who will travel with along the journey if you are in a really bad shape. I can't imagine this level of service in Riga.
Another important point is that transport is everywhere in London. You don't have to walk much to get to a stop no matter where you are. Even on the outskirts of London. Transport is literally everywhere. Walking more than 5 minutes is the norm in Riga, can't imagine walking that much in London if you need to make a journey.
You've mentioned environment, this is also something that's done better in London. Most of the city is covered by train services of all kinds (local trains, inter-city trains, tube, trams, DLR). Buses are also getting greener. A lot of them are hybrid already, and a fully electric buses are now running for a year or two with their numbers constantly growing. TfL (the government organisation managing London's transport) also encourages people to walk and to cycle. They operate the infamous "Boris Bikes", build cycle lanes, pedestrianise roads, etc.
All in all, transport in London is not perfect. But it is waaaaaaaaaaay better than in Riga. It's not even a fair comaprison at this point.
P.S. I also hate that I cannot use my Google Pay or contactless credit card to pay for a bus in Riga. I can use it to pay for a train in Riga, I can use it to pay for an inter-city bus going out of Riga, but local buses? No. I have to buy a ticket from a machine and these machines are rare and often broken. WTF?
I personally live in Kaunas and I am very happy with my public transportation (more specifically buses). They are quite affordable and there are a lot of buses so they basically reach all spots of kaunas. I've been living in many places around the city and everything works well. The buses are also clean and from my experience, they do seem to be better than the ones in Vilnius, which is unusual for a country's capital.
i'll soon agree with this in summer!
Kaunas is have worst public transport in the Europe . ... I cant say nothing good about it
Sorry to say it, but Kaunas public transport sucks as well, even worse than Vilnius in fact. Bus frequencies are terrible and getting anywhere is pretty complicated unless you are lucky enough to live right next to one of the main trolleybus routes. So no, Kaunas public transport is nothing to be happy about.
Tirana, Chisinau, Pristina or many other places have it way worse @@MrGintaras
@@DS.J That's fine for you to say but like I said, as someone who lives here and uses the buses in Kaunas all around the city, i barely have any complaints and I'm proud of how well the buses operate.
I've lived in Germany for some time, also have been in all cities several times during my business trips. Public transport system in whole country is almost perfect, you can reach every address with one ticket. Information is clear, very easy to navigate. Just buses aren't so good, sometimes they are not punctual or it's difficult to find right stop, but even small cities has subways. All people using public transport, even rich businessmans. Many people doesn't buy cars because they are absolutely fine with public transport. Although in Lithuania is much different story. Public transportation is so poor, that nobody uses it, there are mostly seniors, students or asocial people who can't have a car. It's not comfortable, sometimes overfilled, stinks, too hot or too cold. If you live in the middle of Vilnius and go only to work and back then city transport is acceptable, but if you live outside of the city then it's a nightmare. For example, I live in suburb, 500 meters from Vilnius border. To reach a city center by car takes ~20min except rush hours. To go by bus it takes 1,5-2 hours. Train network is poor, only Vilnius-Kaunas is frequent trains, but many other cities doesn't even has railway. In small train stops there aren't even timetables and you can't get information about platforms on internet. Train and bus network isn't syncronized. There are a lot of rails and abandoned train stations around Vilnius, it could be used as Subway (S-Bahn in Germany), but government doesn't care about that. My relatives live ~30km from Vilnius, nearest bus stop is ~7km away, 10 years ago there was bus once a day two times in a week, but it was cancelled. Nevertheless, government telling us to throw away cars and use public transport :D
By the way, did you know that there was tram in Vilnius about 100 years ago?
There was? I only heard there was supposed to be a tram but then the former Polish president Józef Piłsudski robbed the russian convoy with funds dedicated to building it and spent it on building up his paramilitary instead.
it's so strange to read, I have completely opposite feeling about public transport in Germany. I'm originally from Lithuania, but currently living in west side of Germany and public transport is bad. Trains are always late and get cancelled, so my colleagues are always late to work. If you live in the city - it's more or less fine, but if you live outside the city or in nearby town like me and you don't have a metro, then riding with trams and buses becoming a nightmare, you will never know will you get them or not, plus of course it takes a lot of time (same in Lithuania). I just wouldn't survive here in Germany without a car, it's absolutely a must!
In Lithuania public transport used by students, retired or asocial people not because it's so bad, but because we have a small population and small traffic jams, that means people are not afraid to use their car. That's not the case in Germany, because of lack of parking places in the city ant heavy traffic. Why would anyone in their right mind use the bus instead of the car if the time you spend in the car is less? :) Of course if you're not drunk and then forced to use the public transport (still not the case in Lithuania as you would take Bolt).
Regarding dirty public transport it's same in both countries, the more asocial ride - the more dirty and stinky it is. In Germany sometimes it's super stinky that I'm getting out and waiting for another tram. Additionally germans are not using AC in most of the cases, so at summer time it's really hard to breathe in the public transport (they often don't use AC at offices and supermarkets too). The only point I agree, that the railways network is really poor in Lithuania while Germany has one of the biggest in the world (would be useful if trains would not get cancelled :D )
@@Julia-ui5lw Probably you were living in Vilnius and now live in German province so it's not a proper comparision. You should compare German cities with Lithuanian cities and German regional network with Lithuanian. Both ways it's better in Germany. I've travelled through whole Germany by trains, yes, sometimes trains are delayed, but still it's much more faster than in Lithuania. Never seen cancelled train. There are some remote areas which are reachable only by bus (which network isn't clear), but in Lithuania there are much more areas where is no transport at all.
Public transport faster than cars? In Lithuania definately yes (except rush hours in Vilnius). In Germany more likely not. Once I've driven through Berlin by S-Banh in 40mins, then returned same route by car in 3 hours. ICE trains are also faster than Autobahn Stau. The biggest disadvantage of German trains is their price, one-way Intercity ticket is much more expensive than any type of fuel. But as I know locals has annual tickets.
@@Julia-ui5lw I have to completely disagree. For all the issues that Germany has with Deutsche Bahn, it still has one of the best public transport systems in the world and some cities or areas like Rhein-Ruhr are probably at the very very top of the list of greatest public transport systems. That applies to rural areas. Public transport in most rural areas in Lithuania doesn't exist at all.
@@zzap4922 The tram was pulled by horses. It ran from Cathedral till St. Peter's and Paul's church. The same was in Kaunas - along current Laisves avenue.
I found that all the busses running around Vilnius were basically ok, maybe a tiny bit uncomfortable but the price was very nice and I enjoyed them all for 4 days straight on a JUDU card.
Public transport is what really got better. There are G buses (G means "Greitas", in English - "fast") which do not stop on every stop but course more frequently. There are electrical vans which course only in the suburbs. Compared to what public transport is like now and when I went to the school - it's 2 different planets.
Yet, it is not up to standards of a modern European city. The “G” buses were implemented quite a while ago already. It’s the lack of any real improvement plans that worries me.
There was once an ambitious plan to construct a metro system in Vilnius, but unfortunately, it was ultimately canceled. Do you think the implementation of this metro system could have effectively addressed the city's public transportation challenges? I believe it's a compelling and relevant topic worth exploring.
I think Vilnius isn't big enough for a metro system, bigger cities like New York, Moscow and ect. Benefit from it more since the bus system isn't enough for them unlike vilnius
@@razorguy5328 New York, Moscow? Really? What about the cities with Metro systems smaller than Vilnius?
@@phiomiam There are a lot of cities smaller then Vilnius that have metro systems. Like Rennes in France with a population of 222,485. Or Lausanne in Switzerland only with 139,111.
@@razorguy5328 That's a misconception. Cities well below one million inhabitants can have a rapid light rail, light metro or even full metro system. Look at Nuremberg for example.
@@razorguy5328 Rennes is the size of Klaipėda and has a profitable metro system.
5:11 Kaunas planning investing new tram
I lived in Vilnius first 27 years of my life and agree that public transport is pretty crappy, it's slow, goes rarely and stops day way too early for capital (no night busses) and pricey, also it's only country in neighbourhood without traams. After living in Czechia for 10+ years visiting familly stresses me averytime since public transport here is amazing, ticket costs 160 euro for year, night busses involved, nearly all transport low ground, easily acessible, frequent, all parts of town and region easily reachable. Didn't felt need to own car here and left it to my mom, since in Vilnius it's basically necessary.
I'm from Kaunas and I'm still surprised about Vilnius old trolleybuses :D I mean it's fun to look at, but is it worth to keep it?
It's really hard to find the old trolley.
Yes it is, they're amazing.
06:52 Vilnius somehow was last from bigger cities to introduce e-ticket system to it's public transportation and you could see mechanical ticket stampers and e-readers working side by side which looked like 1930s and 2010s steampunk mesh. Vilnius public transportation is messy but not terrible. Other cities are lacking it at all.
What Jonas said to you about the public transport system is 100% accurate. I've been a Vilnius resident my whole life, and despite only having comparisons of the PT system with Riga, London & Kaunas, I can still confidently say that, aside from Kaunas, both London & Riga have a much more fleshed out and welcoming system than Vilnius does.
I went to Riga for the first time in 2018 and to London for the first time in 2019, and I was able to figure out the PT system on my own, barring in mind asking around a few locals for things I wasn't sure on. Whereas when one of my friends flew down from the UK to Lithuania for a week back in 2018, he was so confused and intimidated by the whole system that I kinda had to be the one to do everything, just to make sure we could ride the Vilnius buses together.
My main issues with the public transport system here are these:
- Lack of paying for a ticket on the bus directly from your card
What I mean is that you come in with an empty JUDU card, and you can top it up directly on the bus. Great that this is coming in 2024, but I still feel like this is 15 years later than it should have been.
- OLD BUSES
The amount of old buses & trolleybuses on the streets of Vilnius is appalling. I get that they're "iconic" or whatever, but they are, as you mentioned, very poorly maintained (boiling hot in summer, freezing cold in the winter - I actually got sick once riding one of those old Skoda buses from college back home!) and just pollute the vision of Lithuania as a whole, not just Vilnius. Kinda crazy how Lithuania's national identity is to separate ourselves from Russia fully, yet here we are using Soviet-era technology in 2023 because "it just works" when it really doesn't. Yes, sure, they get you from point A to point B as a bus should, but what's the point when the ride itself wasn't comfortable or pleasant?
There's so much more that I can say about the Vilnius PT system, but overall - it needs a full rework I think. It's fine if you're like me - living here your whole life and kinda used to this whole thing, but I imagine that for any tourists coming into Vilnius - the whole system is a nightmare, and it's hardly a shock people prefer to drive over taking public transportation when it's just...bad.
Yeah, Vilnius is definitely not the best capital in Europe. Old ugly Škodas, no stadium, old railway and bus stations. And in the last place in Lithuania in terms of renovated Soviet apartment buildings, and the most expensive heating in the whole country.
@@karolislatakas137yeah, and then people wonder why Vilnius is considered by most residents and local tourists as one of the worst places in the country.
It's kinda outrageous how high the tax rates are, yet how little is being done on basic infrastructure. If not for the NATO summit that happened earlier this year, I guarantee you nothing would've changed.
Have been living in Vilnius for 3 years with breaks. I also spent 5 months in Prague. Must say the biggest difference I could feel was the lack of rapid transit in Vilnius. Prague has a metro, and even most trams get their priority over other traffic and have dedicated lanes. This made traveling from one side of the city to the other easy. While in Vilnius, the bus network, while very large, is also slow, as it often has to share lanes with car traffic. Some of the "fast" routes, such as 3G or 1G are quite fast when outside the city centre, as they often have dedicated bus lanes. But they absolutely bog down when they cross Žalias tiltas and enter the city centre. The fact that the fast buses pass the city centre makes them terible to travel across the city, not just to and from the centre. This is the main reason why I travel to work by car. While I live in Šeškinė and Work in the airport (connected by the 3G line), the trip by car is almost 3 times shorter, hence I take the car most of the times.
Air conditioning for 5 days a year is silly. A few things not considered. 1. driver quality. Many drivers real throw the passengers around. Not great if you have a replacement knee or hip. Buying your ticket before you board using a phone app is a definite plus and means the transaction can be conducted in English. 2. Percentage of passengers seated. Lithuanian busses have always been run on the principle that a bus should take as many standing travelers as possible. For one or two stops, this is fine, but for travelling a long distance standing this can be tiring. 3. Bus stop size. Lithuania gets a lot of rain and wind. It is not always pleasant standing 10 minutes in a blustery rain waiting.
On the positive side, major bus stops have live feed for bus arrivals. The schedules are online. The busses run pretty much on time (can be a minute or two early). The bus lanes mean they are faster than a car if you are going to the same direction. A bus stop will probably be within a 500 m of the house. (Not great if the sidewalks/pavement is covered by a layer of black ice and the stop is downhill from your house) If you buy your ticket electronically, it is valid for a period of time, regardless of how many busses you use (unlike a ticket bought from the driver).
An insightful video. In my opinion (I'm a Vilnius native), the state of the city's public transport system is outdated and lags behind other European capitals (especially the lack of any kind of railway system). In a disappointing turn, the municipal authorities appear to diverge from this viewpoint and lack a coherent strategy.
I, unfortunately, am very disappointed with public transportation in Vilnius :( I am no longer just concerned with the condition of the rolling stock and old trolleybuses, but with the organization itself, the long and winding routes, the illegible ticket purchasing system, the lack of ticket machines and the lack of bus stop announcements on many buses and trolleybuses. In contrast, public transportation in Kaunas is great - clear, there is information in English, every tourist knows what to do, how to go, where to buy a ticket.
Another problem is the large area of Vilnius and the lack of at least trams (I'm not talking about the subway, because it's a big cost). But that no one plans to build tram lines in such a large city - I don't understand that. I also haven't encountered bus lanes, which simply makes the bus ride long and stands in traffic.
I live in Warsaw, which is also not an ideal city in terms of transportation, but even medium-sized cities in Poland offer better transit conditions, ticket purchases, etc. In my opinion, Vilnius should seriously get to work!
There are bus lanes in many places though. The old trolleybusses will be replaced in ~2025, first new Škoda 32Tr trolleys should appear in february 2024.
it is still dreadful, Kaunas did it in 2019 @@n2e913
Trams is probably the only viable option, or maybe even building those overhead tram line like they have in Japan.
I would like to compare Wilno to Poznań, Poland's fifth biggest city, almost the same size as the Lithuanian capital (some 550.000 inhabitants but 400.000 more live in the surrounding county). In Poznań the main mean of public transportation is tram and the network is quite developed. The are some fast-tram lines (without level crossings), tram tunnels and even a few underground tram stations. Poznań is also a big train junction and you can take local trains to go from one part of the city to another. Compared to Poznań Vilnius public transportation seems to be really underdeveloped.
Hi from Riga!
Went to Vilnius for the first time ever this year, and bro, I have absolutely no idea how to register my public transportation ticket.
I had bought it digitally on the phone, but I had no idea do I have to scan it somewhere or, or enter some codes or just hope that I don't get Ticket checkers and explain them that I have no idea what to do with it if I do get them.
You just activate it on your phone and show it if needed
Agree-I live near antakalnio poliklinika and i study in SMK by Ozas and instead of taking a bus i walk 40 min to my uni each day cuz: the bus 50 arrives rarely takes 20 min for a 4 km journey and the other option taking troley 2 or 4 and then getting on 3g is even longer than that. Its rly not good, yea you can use one bus to from South to North and from west to east but they all go through city center so it become a long and painfull journey.
In Vilnius you can cover a huge part of Vilnius By Walking you'll save a lot of time n it's good for health.
I don't know about international rankings, but I found it comical how Kaunas has much never buses and has updated them more often, meanwhile Vilnius is far richer, but has those old boxy and rusty ones still running. Maybe I just didn't notice, but Vilnius seemingly doesn't have minibuses either, which are faster. At first glance that seems inferior to Kaunas.
I wish at some point we will see trams in Vilnius.
Metro would be amazing, but not sure it will ever happen.
I wish that they still had the old Skoda 14tr trolleybuses in Estonia. They really had the best acceleration sounds that I have ever heard. But sadly all of the trolleybuses are the new Solaris ones now. They even got rid of all the old buses. Now most of the buses over here are the new Solaris buses from the 2020s. I'm pretty sure that even in Norway and Finland they don't have so many new buses lol
I appreciate the sounds of Škoda Tr14 trolleybuses, but we need to understand that public transport is there not to make some nostalgic sounds or appeal to some weird tastes. It's there to move people around the city, and this is where Vilnius public transport fails big time.
As for Norway and Finland, they actually have newer buses and ontop of that they have extensive tramway, metro and suburban rail systems.
I fully agree on the acceleration sounds, this is part of my childhood and I felt very heartbroken when they discarded Škodas from our streets. On the other hand, the fact that they didn’t have low floor made them hard for passengers with children, elderly and disabled plus their sound unfortunately adds up to the noise pollution, so I can see why they don’t really fit into the modern streets anymore.
But I refuse to renounce my love for them still, haha 😁
It's similar in Oslo, in early 2024 they'll finish replacing the entire bus fleet with electric buses (except for 5 because of a bridge weight restriction)
Great Video, Greetings From Jelgava
I read Lithuania has their own electric city bus named Dancer. Have these been seen in any numbers?
If you compare trolley-busses in Vilnius and Kaunas, the worst are in Vilnius. There are modern versions of them, Kaunas has them. Vilnius is a capital and it’s a must to renew all public transport there.
It's really unfortunate that Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, lacks any form of rail-based public transport. As far as I know, most people try to avoid public transport whenever possible. Some even refer to it as 'social transport' implying that if someone can afford a car, they will opt for personal transportation over public options. It's a really sad reality
Don't underestimate some of these old school trolley buses, most of them have holes in the floor for added air circulation
Low frequency of buses indicates one thing and only one. There aren't enough passengers for one reason or another. Even London has plenty of areas where busses only go every 20mins or less frequent. Having empty busses is neither good for environment nor the city's wallet. Where I live busses go maybe every 20 mins but if you walk 5-10 down the road there is an area that you will get a buss to any major location within few minutes. It would also indicate better management of routes. As long as the bus is there when it is scheduled to be there it is good.
It's a vicious cycle, right? If buses are infrequent, people aren't going to use them much (especially if it means waiting a long time for a connecting bus). So planners don't see passenger numbers to justify more frequent service, so buses stay infrequent, so people don't use them much, so...
After some buses routes have been taken by private operator, all public transportation system in Vilnius is fucked. Buses dont go according time tables. Its hard to trust your day on public transportation.
Also, vilnius municipality have bought new ticket system, that includes paper tickets, and after month they have paid for system, they decided not to use paper tickets. Corruption is hell.
Honestly, I did not understand the public transportation system when I was in Vilnius. I used Bolt and Bolt Drive for everything. That, on the other hand, was a great experience. In comparison, a city like Bratislava has about as same size as Vilnius does, but with a much better system.
I like that the bus timetables are wrapped around a post.
They are often full of shit and incorrect
Don't assume Vilnius to be the same as Lithuania. Vilnius has worse public trasnport than a city like Panevezys.
Kaunas - while being behind in almost all metrics has public transportation down. The busses and trolleys are far younger. Have AC in summer and good heating in winter. Being newer save A LOT on repairs and works a lot smoother than in Vilnius. This is just a fact.
Forget electric vs gas busses. How will you make people switch from a car to a bus in summer if that old thing has no AC and you're practically dying inside?
The old buses have written ,,Made in Czechoslovakia" on the inside windows.
Kaunas, in general, no longer has old buses. Each time I go to Vilnius, I am surprised by how common old buses are there. Yes, I know Kaunas has other problems, but this is just my observation. I am proud of Vilnius as our capital, but it looks bad when you see old buses on the main street.
I think it was because kaunas was the cultural capital of europe and expectedf more tourists
But atleast with the older buses you dont need to wait 40 min for another bus you only need to wait 20 min
@@litlepotman I heard that they are going to fix that
Kaunas withdrew last Škoda 14Tr from regular service back in winter of 2019 @@kefyrass
Bad public transportation is the result of the majority of people preferring to go by car.
Public transport used to be cheaper and more available during soviet times when cars were a rarity.
Then people got their freedom, realised that they can easily get a car, and now pretty much only students and the elderly use the bus.
So the bus and trolleybus services became a drain and declined.
From my experience as a citizen of Vilnius, I had lived in 3 different parts of the city (Uzupis, Nauja Vilnia and now Valakampiai/Valakupiai), and while the public transport sector has been improving every year, with old sayings like public transport is for the poor, new electric scooters and vehicles to rent on the spot (bolt, city-bee) and even bike lanes i don't expect public transport to become significantly more popular in the near future, unless they were to restrict cars in the big parts of the city (like city center, old town). Also driving a car is and has been one of the most important cool-factors between students n such (especially because you would be held more independent from your parents, mature and you would be invited to parties because you could drive back home drunk friends :D . And lastly, about old electric trolleys, well because they have electric motors, do not require much maintenance and last a very long time before breaking down while also being eco-friendly, there's simply no reason to change them, while busses were updated at least 2 times after we got independence from Ussr (at least from what I recall, and in Vilnius it is). We also have cheap trains/busses to other cities, you can find them at bilietai.lt, and if you are using busses a lot, look to get 1/3/9 or 12 month bus tickets. they are great value, and have a great time in Lithuania
It may be too early to comment since I've been living here for only a month and in a central neighborhood, I find Vilnius' public transportation quite punctual and not very expensive. However there is one problem I experienced. Some buses do not stop in every stop even though they pass right in front of it. I couldn't see any warnings about that at the bus stops.
Very professional opinion
Vilnius has a semi-decent public transport system. However, other towns and especially transit between smaller towns and villages is the WORST and this is the main problem why we are forced to own and use a car. I would love to not own a car, however reaching small towns is becoming harder and harder every year in Lithuania. I own a summer house just outside the city in the small village and 15 years ago there were plenty of buses going there, then there were less and less, and right now there is none. None! So unless I drive there I cannot reach my house any other way. Sadly our public transport nation-wide is deteriorating (with only exception of Vilnius)
In Klaipeda you don't need a car to travel. That's how good it is.(i didn't needed nor a car, nor a bike for 27 years) There is no old busses like in Vilnius, and i don't understand it
I am a native Lithuanian settled in Germany for nearly 30 years. Every time my husband and myself visit Lithuania, we are very pleasantly surprised at the efficiency of Lithuanian public transportation! When it comes to the fares, you can travel by bus for over half an hour from point A to point B for as little ad 1.50 euros, retired people can cover a similar distance for 50 cents. Buses and trolleybuses are equipped with a very distinct announcement of the forthcoming stops and are normally very close to the schedule, except the rush hour. I have experienced so many problems with public transport in Germany, which is incidentally worlds more expensive than in Lithuania, that I can say it is most unfair to grumble about somewhat older trolley-buses and relatively modern buses in Lithuania. As the old English proverb says, "you cannot eat a pudding and have it at the same time".
Thanks for bringing this topic up. I know there are some opinions who will oppose this view, but (and I say it without meaning disrespect) it's mostly by people who either haven't been to many other cities in Europe (or some cities in Asia), or simply don't care or think much about public transport. I have done a lot of research on the topic and have used many systems all over the world to come to this conclusion: that Vilnius public transport basically sucks. Vilnius scores more or less at the very bottom of the list of public transport systems that I have had a chance to try out and it's important we bring this topic up to the city authorities as well as general public. We don't even need to look far, it's enough to have a look at Polish cities or even Riga and Tallinn to understand why getting around Vilnius using public transport is a pretty poor experience compared to those places. The sooner we understand that Vilnius public transport is horrible, the sooner we may acknowledge the problem and start fixing it.
When Vilnius municipality will finally understand this problem they will replace the ticket validators to new ones :) to improve the system
I lived in Vilnius for half a year in the 2010s, and while the trolley buses were kind of rickety and uncomfortable, I thought the frequency and coverage was fine. And I appreciated that fares were dirt-cheap compared to my home town.
Lack of AC is not a valid point in my opinion. For those 3 weeks it is more than 25C it's ok to open a window. AC is just more work in maintenance etc.
Everything else i Agree 100%
I'm from Kaunas and I can say with heart to my heart - i don't use it. If I need to wait for my vehicle for longer than 5 minutes, gtfo. If it takes as much time to walk than riding a trolley, double gtfo. AAAANNNNDDD I live in a close proximity to a centre!
As a Vilnius resident, I fully agree. The public transportation is absolutely poor. For those who are living in suburbs, it's a challenge to get to the center without a car. But in fact only students and pensioners are using public transportation, every others use their own cars. That caused another problem with traffic jam. Usually you can see only one person in the car. So yes, there are a lot work to do
Vilnius is still growing in population, so traffic jams and public transport issues will only get worse until they become so unbearable that it's forced to build tram lines or even a metro. Except by then building them will cost many times more than currently. Which is why I don't accept any arguments about tram tracks being too expensive - they will only get more so with each passing year, and we need them sooner or later.
People don't realize that idling in traffic jams are also very expensive, it is most likely more expensive than building an underground.
People who ask for trams: that’s more expensive to build and less flexible than new electric trolley buses, which can be charged during stops. That’s the feature and not trams. Overall public transport in Vilnius pretty good: schedule is very precise (for me in 1-2 min range), so it’s easy to plan my trips. Most of the buses are new and clean enough. Trolley buses are very old, I don’t use them at all, because of that. New trolley buses also look too used, despite being not so old. During rush hours buses are full of people - I try to avoid these periods if possible.
What I especially don’t like is how bus drivers drive - too much braking, not a smooth ride. Air cond is not in all buses and where it’s installed, it’s not working as it should. Too hot during winter (yes, you read it right) - cold outside and hot inside - that’s uncomfortable.
I have a car, but often it’s easier to take a direct bus and don’t think about parking etc. Or just walk or take a bicycle in summer.
Estonia Tallinn is not free for ppl living in Tallinn because your employer paying as taxes for it it's cut from salary.
When I was studying I used to use public transportation in Vilnius center a lot and it was great. Lots of stations, frequent and always on time (hated peak times tho with many people). Now I use car because its comfy and its definitely ingrained into our culture to have it, especially if you are a 20yo+ dude. The e-tickets as very easy to use IF you know apps like Trafi beforehand, which can be a problem for tourists. As for old trolleybuses.. Personally they are fine, even though it does make Vilnius look bad
There's main station in Vilnius where there is 12 bus stops for like 30 buses and trolybuses. But I actualy like Vilnius public transport system even those old troleybuses, but there has been some improvements over 10 years, there's more new buses, and it doesn't feel that bad as you said.
It doesn't but it's still trash in comparison to even Riga... how are we letting less economically successful countries overtake us in this aspect.
09:25 Vilnius compared to it's traffic jams has attractive but not that much comfortable public transportation. The best solution is underground metro. All other smaller cities in Lithuania does not match to Vilnius on how wide public transportation network is. Though capital can't keep up with growing population which is not a factor in any other city. In Vilnius you need car for comfort or if you live on outskirts of city.
All other Lithuanian cities are like L.A. and every grown up has one or two cars because of small populations can't sustain effective public transportation so it's so terrible that no modern young active person could live sufficient productive life without a personal car. It's a fact and don't listen to any politician or funny colored hair looking activists. Contact me if you need any information sources.
I have lived most of my life in Vilnius and I fully subscribe to this. Public transport is an insult to its residents. I moved to suburbs. It is because of the poor muncipal management you do not benefit whatsover from living in the city. It took 50 min to commute from Karoliniškės to the airport 30 years ago. Nowadays, with those (not so) fast line (G) buses, A lanes, bypasses, etc., etc., it takes 46 min.😂 Just last week I took a challange to travel from the railway station by troleybus. The experience I gained during this trip would be enough for a separate not so nice documentary…
Vilnius used to have trams.
No, never. If you do not count some horse-trams instead. :D
@@manometras yes I was talking about horse trams. Even if these trams were pulled by horses they are still trams.
I must agree with you on how Vilnius keeps their buses in poor condition. I was on a Brand new Solaris Trollino 12 IV and the windshield was already a bit cracked. I really don't know how Vilnius is going to cherish their 159 brand new trolleybuses coming 2024.
Comparing Munich, Milan and Vilnius (having lived in all three of them), I did not notice any major differences in the bus networks. All systems suffer from being vulnerable to traffic jams - unless the entire bus route uses a separate bus lane. Same goes for trolleybuses, and also for classical tram systems. Munich and Milan both have metro systems, which are independent of the traffic situation on the road, something that Vilnius is lacking. On the other hand, that is no different from Ottawa up to 2019.
Trolleybuses should be mentioned here. A lot of cities in Western Europe abandoned their systems (Munich did so in 1964, Milan heavily reduced its system), replacing trolleybuses with diesel buses, which were at the time considered superior for being more flexible. In the eastern EU, budget was probably the reason this did not happen back then. There’s a bit of irony in cities like Berlin bragging about how they’re testing battery-powered buses from China so that someday they can run all-electric, allowing them to be CO2-neutral one day, when on the other hand Vilnius has had a fleet of all-electric buses all along - possibly with an even better ecological footprint as they don’t need batteries and don’t have to be shipped across half the world. Not much of a difference in passenger experience, except for a somewhat smoother ride and cleaner air at bus stops, but still a factor if your eco footprint matters to you.
As for the rolling stock age, the Tr14/Tr15 family still makes up some 60% of the rolling stock (Soviet-era technology but built and purchased in the first years of independence). The rest is reasonably modern (20% from the mid-2000s, another 20% from the late 2010s). Another 91 new units are to be delivered over the next 2 years; if each of them replaces one of the old Škoda units, they’ll make up another 40% of the rolling stock, and 20% will still be old Škoda units. Trolleybuses last roughly twice as long as diesel buses. For comparison, in Milan, just under 20% of the trolleybus fleet are high-floor units built before 2000.
Tickets - not being able to buy a ticket on the bus may be a bummer, on the other hand the Vilniečio kortelė can be recharged online and without having to install a proprietary app.
Figuring out your way through the network - I wouldn’t say Vilnius is any better or worse then the other two cities I lived in. In both Munich and Milan (as well as in places like London, Barcelona or Montréal) I would usually rely on the metro network map to figure out how to get from A to B, but producing that kind of schematic map is not very feasible for a larger bus network. Though Vilnius has something similar for the trolleybus network, which naturally ends up being more “bundled” because of the need for an overhead wire.
Except that Munich and Milan have extensive networks of trams, metro and suburban and region trains of which Vilnius has none. It's not about buses, but public transport in general, and Vilnius is terrible there. It's actually quite baffling to hear that someone would say that Vilnius public transport is not "better or worse" than Munich or Milan. It's like saying that Lada is no better or worse than a BMW :D
@@DS.J I said the *bus network* is comparable, not the entire system (which is not to say buses are a particularly great means of mass transit). Sure, Vilnius has no tram/metro/commuter trains, but Rīga and Tallinn have no metro either (and, as far as I’m aware, also no commuter train network). As far as trams are concerned, their main advantage over buses/trolleybuses is passenger capacity per unit. The need for that might differ between Vilnius (600,000 residents) vs. Munich/Milan (around 1.4-1.5 million). There isn’t much of a difference in travel time as both run along existing roads. If they share space with cars, both are equally prone to getting stuck in traffic; if they operate on separate tracks/lanes, both have the same speed advantage.
@@stanton4418 Both Tallinn and Riga have extensive tram networks. Riga has an existing commuter rail network.
That would be Dublin
Just compared to Kaunas Vilnius ticketing system looks archaic.
This video represents why mostly seniors (pensioners) big part of passengers, because they are getting 80% ticket discount.
At 1/5 price could be acceptable all that waiting is bus stops, non optimal routes (causing too long total travel time) and poor experience.
Thats bs mate, I've lived in londong, lisboa, madrid, and I can tell you besides the "old" trolleybuses heating in winter (they heat but not as good) the system is working good. You have FULL shedule ahead and you can check it online, so you can plan ahead, they have more cars when needed, less when its mid work day, but afterall its good. I use my car only for going to summer site and stuff like that. Otherways, its public transport baby.
I think the issue is What is Vilnius being compared to. As Kris point out, Vilnius is comparable to Vancouver/Ottawa, which is consider some of the best public transport in North America (That includes the no heating/aircon part)
I think one main reason why trams seems a tricky option is because Vilnius has high elevation differences that will made rail transportation really hard to engineer.
For my opinion it is better to implement in Vilnius for big routes (like xG now) bus-tram system, where you put two separated bus lines in the middle of the street only for bus. And to be more eco-friendly it better to use trolley with battery or even electro-bus. And after implementing this high speed (because you do not care about rush hours) made life for car owners harder like making on this bus tram lines only one narrow line for cars and significantly rise parking prices in city center (more your car cost more you can afford to spend for parking - if you don’t like this deal - use public transportation or bicycle) as a business model to cover reconstructions costs for such system.
I think Vilnius should really invest into the trolleybus system. The trolleybus catenary isn't great and only recently got upgraded with new switches, many of which were installed quite poorly and only allow 25-30km/h
Bestonia strikes again 💙🖤🤍
nah bro its dogshit, 5G makes me cry
Vilnius transportation system is the worst from european capitals. No european capital relies solely on busses for transit (microstates exluded). Without rail - we will be stuck in the stone age and never have proper transport system.
Want to check: Basically, you are comparing European Capitals to European Capitals, and not to the rest of the western world, incluiding Ottawa (There is a reason why Kris are using Ottawa as an example) and Vancouver: (Bus you get a paper ticket which is useless for skytrain and need a seperate purchase)
Now I know Kris mentioned Vancouver about allowing tapping with phone/CC, but that will charge you the full price of 4.55 2-zone vs 3.75 2-zone (Yikes)
Ljubljana, Skopje, Tirana don't have a tram. No european capital..
I have just got back to Lithuanian after 13 years. Same old.... I noticed that there are more new trolleybuses run at the weekends, perhaps to look better in the eyes of tourists and people who go out. Nobody cares about the poor or the most stigmatized, nothing new. I am talking about pensioners and students, moms with buggies struggle getting on and off too. You do get to where you need to, but personally, I rather walked than got on those old trolleybuses. I would dare to say that situation on the public transport accuratly reflects the stagnant attitude and societal progress of my beloved Lithuania. I bet non of the rulling classes take public transport, so why would the government do anything. Government, get us new trolleybuses and we are all good.
Jau užkontraktuota ir gaminama, žr.: "VVT už daugiau nei 52 mln. eurų iš „Škodos“ įsigis 91 troleibusą". Kam ta drama.
Plius miesto su naujausiu VT meras vairuoja Ferrari, tai ta patetika taipogi pro šalį.
I lived in Vilnius most of my life, but moved abroad. I used to live in the outskirts of the city and buses there were not frequent and often overcrowded especially on peak times. Also they are not well maintained and even new buses get worn out quite quickly. Vilnius has a big issue that it is very spread therefore people need to travel long distances which makes it more difficult to organise efficient public transport. There are express busses, but I believe they are not fast enough and also the network of them could be bigger. There is a train stop close to my house, but the train stops only 6 times per day. So I would say frequency, speed and maintenance of vehicles are the main issues. I personally agree that Vilnius has quite poor public transport system.
There is nothing worse than public transport of the UK.
London has one of the best public transport systems in the world. The rest of the UK is a different story of course.
Yeah the public transportation is basically the imitation of what it should be. The cities were not designed neither for this number of people living in them, for this number of cars driving through them. A lot of the manufacturing districts were also changed over time and the whole architecture of the cities changed greatly. I believe back in soviet era, the transportation wasnt as bad because it was based on the city plans that were made then.
Now everything changed except the streets and the people need to travel to the different parts of the city. Also a great deal of people who work in the city live outside of it.
Its hard to imagine what would be needed in order to make the public transportation viable for today needs. There is no budget for that at least not at the scale needed.
I find the cost comparison between Vilnius and Vancouver a bit problematic - minimum wage in Lithuania is about a third that in Canada, median wage is half brutto and about a third netto. Taking purchasing power parity, Vilnius public transport costs thusly more than Vancouver's, and you get buses built in the Soviet era...
As Lithuanian i can say its bad and nothing to say more
05:12 funny history behind how Vilnius avoided getting tram line built in the city. In early years of XX century russian tsardom was in control of Vilnius (Vilne,Vilna,Wilno lol) and Moscow decided to fund tram line in it. Train with gold funds was sent but it was intercepted by Józef Piłsudski (Juzefas Pilsudskis) and his gang in Bezdoniai train station and robbed of all money :) He used those funds for pro-polish resistance. You could say that Pilsudski kickstarted Polands independence with Vilnius tram funds :) Some people who hate trams give big credit to Pilsudski and consider this act as one of just few good things done for the sake of Lithuania :)
Yep, very valid points sir! The main problem of transportation here in Vilnius is that municipality created this bureaucratic money-grab company that allegedly takes care of everything transport-related and they ain't doing shit to make things better or innovate. Their operation oriented around monetisation and penalising the people who not using their services, but not actually improving it.
No, I don’t like to use my car, I just hate to use the Lithuanian public transport.
Public transport is way better in Kaunas.
I get to Vilnius not that often, but it feels to me that the Vilnius public transportation system is bad. No, it’s awful and stressful.
Vilnius busses are a shame. Please talk more about Kaunas :)
Ok, whining and complaining is national Lithuanian sport. Not a basketball at all.
For positive Vilnius has a network of express busses. It joins the transportation hubs, like stations, medicine and education centers. PT comes usually on time. Tickets are moderately priced. There are PT tickets for day, week, month and longer periods. You can pay with money on your PT card or with prepaid tickets.
There are real time information sistem on PT reachable thru several mobile applications, very convenient for trip planing.
For negative there are some streets near city center without dedicated lines for PT.
P.s. Rail transportation would be a mess from XIX century.
don't salvage what's a wreck
Gee Vilnius sounds like a number of North American cities. What’s wrong with… Oh, never mind.😊
Vilniuses public transport is still better than Slovakia, even tho the graph showed Bratislava as 5th. The IVECO buses are tragic cramps, a huge mess. The crossways are louder than a Boeing, shaky like a 90's Mercedes bus, I could keep on going. The Škoda BlueDrive buses are one of the best here.
How do we start a movement to change this awful state of public transport. Tourists and foreigners cry every time I go to Vilnius how awful and unpleasing it looks. It drives away tourism to say the least. They had a vote and decided that a high-speed tram needs to be built, forgot about it for years, then passed a law for funding the metro construction, forgot it again. Now it's always "wahhh, economic recession. wahhh, covid. wahhh, rail baltica. wahhh, nobody uses the public transport anyway", how the hell are we so far behind even Poland in this...
Vilnius public transport is neither fast (always jammed in rush hours) nor clean (used and dirty is the permanent state) nor on-time (don't rely on it for being on schedule) nor comfortable (sardine can crammed esp. Kalvarijų str.) nor new , nor economical or eco friendly. The Vilnius bus park has been bailed ad-perpetum for it is drowning in debt). The OP had really shut their eye or havent moved further than Vilnius from his village to claim Vilnius's transport is any good. Heck - have you tried to speak with any of the drivers? They hardly speak Lithuanian, not to mention English. The bus park has no self respect to educate drivers that are mostly of russian ethnic minority that never adapted. Slum level drivers for slum lever transport system. For god's sake - travel the world before you make videos like this.
public transportation in Vilnius s*cks as s
And public transportation in Vilnius is worse than in Moscow and Minsk.
I had lived in Vilnius for 35 years the public transport was always crappy, slow, smelly, and expensive. City council needs to understand citizens do not need art objects in the form of a shit pipe running to the river invest where it matters baboons. On the other hand, I left Lithuania hopefully for good so it does not matter anymore.
please add some background music
Vilnius is a near disaster when it comes to public transportation.
Those old Škodas are literally the best part about the public transport in Vilnius. Seeing something cute like that might make you forget about all the constantly late buses, routes that are being cancelled and terrible vehicle maintenance. They are built well and could last another 40 years with proper maintenance. We bought a bunch of new trolleybuses in 2018 and they already have holes in the floor from rust. That's just not normal for "western" European standards. The construction of new residential developments that are entirely car based doesn't do any good for Vilnius either.
I like your reverse logics.
@@fidenemini111 Why is it "reverse logics"? Have you ever been on public transport in Vilnius? The whole system is dreadful.
I reckon they could start from the trolleybus drivers not shutting the door in front of potential customers...
While I'm a proponent of using public transport, certain experiences with public transport in Vilnius - drivers shutting the doors literally in front of people waiting at the designated spots at bus stops, confusingly infrequent service especially during peak times and the infamous trolleybuses that ought to have been phased out at least 15 years ago - make me question whether it is a viable option for getting about 🥲