RIGA, Feb 2 (LETA) - The snow blanket covering Riga increased to 20 centimeters overnight, causing chaos in the streets of the capital.
As LETA was informed by Riga City Council's Transport Department, the first to be cleared are the city's main thoroughfares; driving on minor routes is much more difficult.
The road maintenance service is working round the clock. There are 31 snow removal vehicles working on the streets of Riga, along with 14 street sweepers, and more than 10 trucks which are transporting snow away.
Riga City Council for the second day in a row appealed to citizens to use public transportation, as movement with personal vehicles along many routes could be problematic and take a lot of time.
However, LETA was informed by Liene Rumpane, director of the information section for "Rigas Satiksme", that public transport timetables will be meaningless today as all means of transport are running behind schedule.
Trams are facing difficulties due to snow accumulating between the rails, which need to be cleaned out, and buses and trolley-buses are having difficulty turning around at the end of their routes. Several buses have not even been able to reach these end points.
"Even if a bus can drive into the stopping area at a bus stop, often it can't get back out again. So bus drivers are trying to avoid driving into these areas" said Rumpane.
She evaluated the situation as quite serious and appealed to citizens to exercise patience and be understanding.
LETA
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