Before the Vilnius mayoral elections, the people of Vilnius started talking intensively again about the need for a tram in the city. During this period, we heard quite a few opinions. And here Artūras Zuokas and Andrius Vnukovskis shared their thoughts about the tram idea in their social space.
"Once, in an interview, a journalist said that he was about to cry with laughter when he heard the idea of a tram. Actually, we should cry not only for the journalist, but also for all of us, precisely because there is no tram in Vilnius.
In this aspect, Vilnius is very different from other European cities (capital cities or cities of similar size in terms of population). Only a few cities without a tram can be found (Tirana, Podgorica, Pristina, Reykjavik). Many experts admit that an efficient transport system for a city of this size is impossible without rail transport. Trams are far superior to buses or trolleybuses. Its average speed is higher than that of buses, especially trolleybuses, and its capacity is higher.
Occupying a smaller area on the streets, the tram can transport several times more passengers than wheeled vehicles. It is enough to compare the space occupied by three buses at the Green Bridge stop. In addition, the tram can be more easily separated from the general traffic flow, thus realizing the most important public transport advantage over using your own car.
And Vilnius does not have any reasons, such as terrain or city area, which would condemn it to belong to that group of unfortunate cities where trams are not possible. The oldest architect of Vilnius, Mindaugas Pakalnis, agrees with this, writing about the tram on his Facebook account. True, he raised the issue of passenger flows and tram profitability. According to him, the passenger flows in Vilnius are too small for the profitability of the tram and it can be thought about only when they increase. In fact, the tram is exactly what is needed in order to increase public transport passenger flows.
The number of people using public transport has been decreasing since 2015 (excluding the Covid-19 period). This is despite the increasing number of new buses and trolleybuses. Studies show that in cities where trams have been installed, the number of people using public transport has increased significantly. Unsurprisingly, this is a more convenient and faster tool. No matter how new the buses are, you will not attract people to them if the journey by public transport is significantly longer than by own car. With the advent of the tram, the competitiveness of public transport would increase, passenger flows would increase, and car flows would decrease. This happened in other cities, it would be the same in Vilnius.
Cities that invest in rail transport systems calculate the payback for decades. However, it is extremely important to assess the indirect profitability of the tram. It has decreased Air pollution, fewer hours spent in traffic jams. This benefit is not considered in the cost calculation.
On average, Vilnius residents spend 119 hours a year in traffic jams during peak hours. It is easy to see that it is time that costs money, that is, real losses when no added value is created. Vilnius occupies an increasingly worse place in the ranking of traffic intensity, which means that the intensity of traffic jams is growing and will continue to grow if no fundamental changes are taken. A tram would certainly help reduce the number of hours spent in traffic jams. This effect alone determines the profitability of the tram.
Improved air quality is also not financially measurable. Some districts of Vilnius have some of the worst air quality indicators in Europe – incredible considering that Vilnius is a medium-sized city. Vilnius is committed to exceeding the goals set by the EU and reducing the amount of CO2 emissions in its territorial unit by at least 20%. Electric public transport is one of the means to achieve this goal.
As another benefit that is not financially appreciated is the economy of travel time (how much travel time could be saved). According to the 2014 Invest in Lithuania in the case of the tram, the savings in travel time and its value are the greatest according to the Feasibility Study for the Implementation of a New Public Transport Type (hereinafter - Feasibility Study).
It is also important not to forget that by attracting more people to use public transport, the indirect financial benefit of the tram is that the average family, which is currently forced to own two or three cars, could have one, thus saving the cost of buying and operating a second car, fewer parking spaces.
When calculating the payback of the tram, the indirect investment effect must also be assessed, that is, the economic impact of the investment costs for installing the tram, which according to the Feasibility Study is the highest in the case of the tram.
Costs bite
It is a huge myth that Vilnius does not have a tram, or that its costs are unbearable.
When it comes to trams, you can often hear jokes about unrealizable fantasies, spaceships, etc. One might think that Vilnius, the capital of an EU member state, the largest city, whose GDP per capita exceeds 120 percent. of the EU average, can only afford to repair sidewalks or install a park in 4 years, and any major infrastructure development for Vilnius is beyond their means.
Install 1 km. tram lines can cost on average between 15 and 25 million euros depending on the level of right of way and other circumstances. Route Santariške - Station (about 12 km) would cost 240 million on average. This amount should be divided for each year of construction. One recent example is Tampere (Finland's second largest city with about 215 inhabitants), where 000 km. length, two tram lines were built for 16 million euros. It is much cheaper than the cost of the western area of Vilnius. Tampere built the tram lines in 266 years (excluding design).
If Vilnius also managed to build one line in three years, the construction would cost 80 million euros per year, which is certainly not an exorbitant amount. Although in 2014 in the feasibility study, the estimated cost of installing the tram (without calculated risks) was lower, taking into account inflation and other factors, let's take a more conservative calculation option. It should also be kept in mind that the option of a monorail tram can also be considered, in which case the installation costs would be even lower.
The idea of a tram was also considered when the budget of Vilnius reached about 400 million euros. in 2023 the city budget exceeds 1 billion 200 million. Vilnius allocates about 80 million euros for public transport (for comparison, Riga allocates more than 300 million). The question is, could Vilnius increase the amount allocated to public transport?
Cities that invest in such facilities always receive state support. The state should certainly contribute because the ability of the state capital, which generates the largest share of the state's GDP, to function effectively is a matter of national importance. Forms of public and private capital partnership should not be forgotten.
It would also be possible to take advantage of EU funding opportunities (e.g. Recovery and Resilience Fund, Next Generation EU, funds for sustainable mobility, Lithuanian progress). Although the EU 2021-2027 one of the peculiarities of the investment program is the distribution of part of the funds by regions, which also determines different state co-financing: for the capital region - 50 percent. However, the possibilities of EU funding remain large, a separate article would be needed for that.
Also, the project could be implemented through a public-private partnership, with part of the risks being transferred to a private partner.
(No) alternatives
The improving bicycle infrastructure certainly cannot solve all the transport problems in Vilnius. Studies show that people who use public transport start to use bicycles, which means that the number of cyclists increases at the expense of public transport. However, bicycles fail to attract those who use their own cars. As someone scribbled, you will not force a mother or father to sit on a bicycle in winter and take their children to a club.
One of the candidates for mayor of Vilnius, advocating for the narrowing of the streets, when talking about the tram, mentioned that he would first install bus lanes in the middle of the street (hereinafter - BRT, English. will be rapid trasport – buses using separated traffic lanes). Although the view that Vilnius needs major changes in the field of public transport is commendable, the idea is criticised. The aforementioned feasibility study evaluated various alternatives. BRT, like streetcars, would require design and construction work on the streets en route to create a priority lane. BRT installation would account for more than 60 percent. tram installation costs. However, the tram has many more advantages - longer interval, higher capacity, which provides more comfort for passengers, narrower traffic lanes than BRT, enabling the saving of urban space, compliance with high ecological standards, more uniform acceleration and braking, etc. As mentioned, buses will never have all trams advantages, by installing separate lanes for BRT, and then deciding to install trams, the work would have to be done twice, the investments would be duplicated.
Experts are unequivocal
It is not surprising that international experts also offer Vilnius a tram. In addition, experts from the Paris Planning Institute suggested using the existing rail transport infrastructure. The existing railway already connects N. Vilnia, Pavilni, Rasas, Centra, Savanorių pr., Zemausii and Aukštisii Paneri, Salininki, Juodšilii, Lentvari, Grigiški. The urban train-tram concept would help to reduce car traffic on Tūkstantmečios Street and other parts of the city.
Workshops were organized, studios were prepared, but everything fell into the drawers. It seems that Vilnius is unable to undertake larger and vitally necessary projects. Vilnius is growing and will continue to grow, which means that the need to install a new vehicle is growing every day. Adequate infrastructure of the urban communication system is vital for the economic, social and economic activity of the city. Already now Vilnius is seriously delayed, we cannot wait until one day we realize that Vilnius has become a stagnant, uncomfortable city", - Artūras Zuokas and Andrius Vnukovskis.
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