Free apps challenge Tallinn’s ageing public transport website
Wednesday 28th October 2026 on 21:01 in
Estonia
Free apps built by independent developers are gaining users as alternatives to Tallinn’s ageing public transport website, ERR reports.
Public transport vehicles in Tallinn and Tartu send their locations to a system every 10 seconds. Using that public data, developers have created three free apps, saying the official website is outdated and cumbersome.
“To see bus times quickly, you have to go to different websites and click a lot. I wanted to get it in one click,” said Kaspar Sanglepp, creator of Go Now.
“The visual design is 10 to 15 years old, or more. It takes so much time to get to journey planning,” said Sander Pukk, creator of Mis? Kuhu?
The developers said they wanted to make it quicker and easier to see public transport movements in real time. “Tallinn Live is very simple: you open the app and use it. People like that simplicity,” said its creator, Taha Yasin Erel.
Tallinn does not yet have an official public transport mobile app. “It is easier to use a mobile phone because people are on the move these days,” Pukk said. Sanglepp said the official service looked like something made in 2010 and should not still be in use in 2026.
The three apps have more than 2,000 daily users combined, despite having no advertising. Tallinn Live, the newest of the three, received 4,000 views in four days. Erel said he received hundreds of comments and suggestions, which he began incorporating into the app.
Pukk said users had particularly welcomed the real-time information, which can show whether a bus is late at stops without an electronic display.
People interviewed by ERR said they use both the official and unofficial services. One passenger, Oleg, said he was satisfied with the official transport website. Another, Karl, said Tallinn Live made it easier for him to get to work because it showed information better than tallinn.transport.ee.
Deputy Mayor Joel Jesse said surveys showed that people were satisfied with Tallinn Transport’s online service, but the city still plans to modernise it in the coming years. The Mobility Department is conducting analyses, he said, and the update could include an app or a mobile-friendly version.