Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia, part of Harju county, and is home to more than 430 000 people. The population of the whole county is more than 600 000. Tallinn Old Town is one of the best preserved Hanseatic town centres in the world and is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. The city has the highest number of start-ups per person among European countries and is a birthplace of many international high technology companies, including Skype and Transferwise, which is one of the many reasons why Tallinn has been listed among the top ten digital cities in the world. From the beginning of January 2013, Tallinn is the first capital in the EU to provide free public transport to its citizens
Tallinn and Harju County have developed rapidly and enormously over the last 15 years. The rapid increase of car usage and economic development in the region have now brought 50% of the country’s total transport and its environmental impact to this region. The number of cars and the volume of traffic have increased rapidly throughout the region, leading to a decline in travel by foot and public transport, population and job relocations, increased dependence on personal cars, and increased transport costs for households and businesses. At present, Tallinn’s traffic generates 1,400,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, but a target has been set to reduce the emissions to 930,000 tonnes by 2030. Achieving an attractive city, diversity of mobility, and the set environmental and health objectives requires guiding urban development, creating good opportunities for using fast public transport and travelling by foot instead of driving personal cars, as well as a much more economical fleet of vehicles. A transport system that is more diverse and aimed at the wider use of public transport is also more cost-effective, enabling people to save at least 300 million euros a year.
Key findings of SWOT
Better cooperation between municipalities and the National Road Administration in planning bus stops on state roads
Harmonizing train and bus transport so that they will support intermodality rather than compete between each other
Clear communication where to built PT infrastructure so that real estate developers could take that into account when planning new housing and commercial areas
To make sure that new infrastructure developments would not create barriers but support sustainable mobility goals in the region
Development of inner-city tram connections - new lines, higher frequency and speed, including contributing into making commuting more sustainable