Narva border queue operator seeks city support

The city-owned company that manages the vehicle queue at the Narva border crossing is seeking operational support as cross-border car traffic remains suspended, ERR reports.

Transservis-N has struggled for two years. When thousands of cars crossed the border, the company paid dividends to the city. It is now asking its owner for support to stay afloat: 50,000 euros this year and twice that amount next year.

Narva has not decided what to do with the company. Mayor Jaan Toots said closing it could make restarting operations difficult because the buildings would deteriorate. The company’s grounds are still used to park cars from Latvia, Lithuania and Finland, including those belonging to tourists who cross the border on foot. That brings in some revenue, but the number of tourists is also declining, he said.

Toots said he hoped vehicle traffic across the border would resume and the company would not have to close. City council member Katri Raik, from the opposition, argued that the city should not rely on that prospect. In wartime, she said, border traffic was more likely to fall further than to recover.

Raik said the company should be temporarily closed and could be restarted if the border reopens after the war. She added that keeping it open just to operate a car park was not worthwhile, as the parked cars did not belong to Narva residents and the service was not vital to the city.

Narva’s city government is expected to decide the company’s future while preparing next year’s budget. Vehicle traffic across the border in Narva was halted in early 2024, when Russia began rebuilding the car terminal at the Jaanilinn border crossing. The work is reportedly due to be completed in December.