If you arrive at Riga airport and consider taking the public bus Nr. 22, be very careful. It is cheap option to get into centre – 0,40/0,50 Ls only, while airBaltic city shuttle costs 3 Ls. Taxi could cost around 10 Ls or even more because you are foreigner. But the bus Nr. 22 is being watched by ticket controllers. The scenario is a but like pirates robbing a ship. Controllers stop the bus (it can be anywhere on the route and usually it’s not a stop of the bus) and get in and demand tickets. The bus will continue its route only when penalty fees are collected. They are usually at least 5, but can be even 10 controllers at the same time. The thing is that obviously most people have tickets, cos you can buy one from a bus driver, however, how the hell foreigners would know that they also need to purchase extra tickets for their luggage?! There is no indications in English in the bus about that. And controllers don’t take it for excuse that you didn’t know. So this is a honey for bees, a typical Soviet time attitude towards foreigners – to fuck them hard. And then the city council, who owns the public transport, will say that they are working with profit. And that profit will go towards promotional leaflets of Riga city. How stupid is that, cos such attitude from controllers at the bus is the best “advertising” for Riga. How dumb.
