Riga reports fewer attacks on public transport staff this year

Physical attacks on public transport staff have not increased this year, while Riga has recorded fewer incidents than last year, Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported. The State Police said there had been few such conflicts.

Rīgas satiksme, Riga’s public transport operator, has registered two physical attacks this year: one on a ticket inspector and one on a trolleybus driver. The company said the situation had improved considerably from last year, when passengers physically attacked its employees nine times. It may have carried around 100 million passengers this year.

The company’s representative, Baiba Bartaševiča-Feldmane, said staff, particularly ticket inspectors, regularly face verbal abuse and emotional aggression. Inspectors wear body cameras, and recordings can be passed to police. She urged passengers to report incidents to the police or emergency medical services rather than relying on filming alone.

One of the most serious incidents this year happened in early June on an electric train travelling from Riga to Ķemeri. A young man, later deemed not criminally responsible because of his mental state, attacked a female train conductor and stole her personal bag, work bag and money. She has been unable to work since the attack.

Passenger train operator Pasažieru vilciens said the incident was unprecedented in the company’s history. Its representative, Dace Zaldāte-Rozentāle, said disagreements between passengers and ticket inspectors do occur, including over travel without a ticket, but the company does not regularly encounter this kind of aggressive behaviour.