This case study presents the cross-border public bus service between Suwałki (Poland) and Kaunas (Lithuania). 

It explores the business model of this service, including its governance arrangements, operational provisions to develop the service and address demand, and its territorial scope. This connection, provided by a private limited transport company, Ecolines Estonia, was established in 2007. The service constitutes a short part of the regular long-distance route Riga – Bonn – Riga. The case study presents the key obstacles to the service, and solutions to these obstacles are discussed. The concluding section then reflects upon the lessons learnt from this service. 

The general findings of this case study show a picture of a purely business-driven example of public transport service following market rules and lacking any anchoring to the regional cross-border strategy aiming at socio-economic development. 

This case study report is part of a series of 31 case studies developed in the framework of the study ‘Providing public transport in cross-border regions – Mapping of existing services and legal obstacles’, completed by Spatial Foresight in cooperation with TCP international, TRT trasporti e territorio and EureConsult for the European Commission’s DG REGIO.