2026-02-26 |
Klaipėda’s mayor abruptly removed the longtime director of the city’s public transportation authority on February 9, a move that has sparked questions about the future of the local transit system. The dismissal of Gintaras Neniškis, who had led “Klaipėdos keleivinis transportas” (KKT) for nearly two decades, came without a stated reason, according to reports.
Neniškis, who previously served as the director of the Klaipėda Municipal Administration from 2019 to 2023, maintained that under his leadership, KKT had developed the best public transportation system in Lithuania. He highlighted a fleet with an average age of six years, an 80 percent reliance on eco-friendly vehicles, and a modern electronic ticketing system.
“The average age of the buses is 6 years, the share of environmentally friendly transport is 80 percent, and we have the most modern electronic ticketing system in Lithuania,” Neniškis argued, adding that the agency had managed costs effectively. He noted that in 2024, Klaipėda only needed to cover 1.7 million euros in public transport losses, compared to 18.1 million euros in Kaunas and 2.4 million euros in Šiauliai.
According to Neniškis, the explanation for his unexpected dismissal on February 9, at the end of the workday, became clear quickly. Alina Mikalauskė, a municipal administrator appointed as interim director, signed amendments to a contract that eliminated penalties for UAB “Klaipėdos paslaugos,” a city-owned company, for operating older buses. This move raises questions about potential conflicts of interest within the city’s transportation network.
Neniškis stated he had raised concerns about delayed tenders for novel buses issued by “Klaipėdos paslaugos.”
“The new vehicles were supposed to arrive on November 18, and since then, everyone has been trying to cover it up. There has never been a situation where 18 buses didn’t operate. We questioned the uncontrollably rising costs,” Neniškis said, suggesting his criticism became unwelcome.
Neniškis wryly commented that “Klaipėdos paslaugos” seemed to be missing only a massage with a happy ending in their sauna and the freedom to grow vegetables on a vacant plot. He said he had seen such a concentration of services in Belarus as early as 2013.
“It was a great honor to work for this city. I want to point out the very strange, poor situation that exists in the institution. Okay, I didn’t fit in. But what does it mean when direct administration is created from the municipality and now a person who has no understanding of public transport is in charge? They are being taught by experienced managers, doctors of science. What kind of work can be done, what kind of result can be expected?” Neniškis stated.
He likewise emphasized that a European Union-funded project for a unified public transport system across seven municipalities in the Klaipėda region was beginning to stall, with planned procurements and meetings with municipalities postponed. According to Neniškis, the success of this project is crucial for securing funding to modernize bus stops in Juodkrantė, Gargždai, and other municipalities, and failure could result in financial penalties.
Neniškis estimated that, considering the preferential treatment given to “Klaipėdos paslaugos,” public transport losses could increase by at least one million euros in 2026.
Mayor Arvydas Vaitkus responded to Neniškis’s comments with a single word: “thank you.” Following his return from vacation, Vaitkus explained the reason for Neniškis’s dismissal in a written statement, stating that the director had “lost trust” due to “a series of actions” that raised doubts about his impartiality in serving the best interests of the city and the institution.
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