RIGA, Oct 12 (LETA) - The Latvian Passenger Transport Association calls for a prompt decision on allocation of additional funds in the amount of at least EUR 18.5 million for the provision of public transport services by buses in order to avert disruption of public transport service in the regions until the end of the year, as the association's president Ivo Osenieks told LETA.

This is not the first time and not the first fall that neither the Transport Ministry nor Transport Minister Talis Linkaits are concerned about companies operating regional buses, which are left without funds necessary to ensure uninterrupted service to residents, said Osenieks.

He explains that the Transport Ministry was aware about insufficient funding already in the first half of the year, because no balance was achieved in the state budget between the volume of services commissioned and the amount of financing allocated for these services. State institutions also consistently opposed revision of transport companies' fares to increase revenues.

According to Osenieks, the latest advance payment from the state covers only 27 percent to 30 percent of the required amount, even though agreements concluded with regional public transport companies and Cabinet of Ministers regulations stipulate that the advance payment must cover no less than 95 percent of the companies' losses.

In the current circumstances, public transport companies may be forced to reduce availability of their service to the extent the cost thereof is covered by the available state financing, as they will not be able to buy fuel and pay employees for their work. This means that the volume of public transport companies' services may be reduced by 50 percent to 70 percent.

The Passenger Transport Association is calling on the Transport Ministry and the Cabinet of Ministers to promptly allocate additional funds in the amount of at least EUR 18.5 million so that regional public transport companies could continue to provide uninterrupted public transport service until the end of the year.