Attracts more tourists: European city introduces new mode of transportation

A pleasant vacation in a beautiful city always needs a pleasant mode of transportation. Amsterdam is famous for its bicycle routes, Venice for its gondola boats, and Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, will soon have its own specialty.

The local council has approved the launch of electric water transportation in the city, according to Made In Vilnius. It is planned to be introduced in three stages. The first will be the launch of the connection between the city center and the district of Zhirmunai. This should happen in the summer of 2025.

"Our goal is to turn the Nyaris river embankment into a new center of attraction for the capital, so, while reconstructing the infrastructure of the embankment, we have started to think about environmentally friendly water transport," said Mayor Valdas Bencunskas. According to him, there are already similar systems in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, London or Berlin. And everywhere they serve not only as a business incentive, but also as a tourist attraction.

By summer 2025, a connection with 6 berths will be established between Jirmunai and Žvėrynas, where electrically-powered boats will stop. After the integration of this route into the existing public transportation system of Vilnius, citizens and tourists will have an opportunity to transfer from the boat to road transport. The Green Bridge stop will become such a hub. This connection will also provide residents and guests of the city with more convenient and faster communication with business centers, museums and other attractions located in the central part of the city.

The full duration of one route is expected to be about 45 minutes. At the beginning of operation, up to 4 electric boats will run on it, and transportation services on the river will be provided between May and October.

In the second phase, the network of stops on the Jirmūnai - Žvėrinas section will be expanded by installing 6 additional berths. In the third stage it is planned to create a connection between the parks of Žvėrinas and Vingios. For this purpose two additional berths will be installed. At present, the exact timeframe for the realization of these plans is unknown. They will depend on the timing of the creation of the necessary infrastructure for navigation and the technical capacity of navigation on the relevant section of the Nyaris River.

The integration of water transport is aimed at reducing the flow of automobile traffic into the central part of the city. In the second and third phases, parking lots will appear in Vilnius for those who want to leave their cars and continue traveling around the city by water.

A single ticket for a trip in an electric boat in Vilnius will cost 3 euros when purchased in mobile applications or on the website and 4 euros when purchased on board and with contactless payment. Discounts will be available for certain categories of passengers.

For travel on water routes, a family ticket will also be offered, which will allow cheaper travel for two adults and children up to 18 years old (up to 3 children). Such a ticket can be purchased online for 7 euros or for 9 euros on board. You can also save money if you buy a round-trip boat ticket, it will be available only in advance and will cost 5 euros.

Subscribe to the channels OBOZ.UA in Telegram and Viber to be aware of the latest events.