Fares for passenger rail services provided in the public interest will be temporarily reduced by 50% from October 1, exclusively in second class, for 30 days. This follows from a proposal for a temporary adjustment of fares in public-interest passenger rail transport, which the government approved on Wednesday with an amendment proposed by the Ministry of Transport of the Slovak Republic.
Transport Minister Jozef Ráž (Smer-SD nominee) was given a task as part of the amendment. By September 30, he is to prepare a proposal under which the government would pay self-governing regions one-third of what they currently spend on suburban bus transport if they reduce fares on those services by 30%, according to Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD). The government also wants to offer regional capitals a monthly subsidy so that they can halve fares for public urban transport.
“The Slovak Republic is currently facing a sharp increase in fuel prices, which has a direct impact on the economy as well as on households themselves, whose costs for individual car transport are rising. One possible solution is to shift from individual car transport to passenger rail transport,” the Ministry of Transport said in its explanatory memorandum.
The temporary reduction in train fares is intended to ease the financial burden on households, help maintain people’s mobility, and encourage the use of public passenger transport during the designated period. The estimated impact on railway operators’ revenues during the 30-day period of reduced fares is €4.3 million, while the estimated increase in costs is €1 million, for a total impact of €5.3 million. Prices will be rounded down to the nearest €0.05, and the reduction will apply to all single and route tickets, including weekly and monthly passes.
The measure is aimed primarily at passengers who use rail transport daily to commute to work, school, and for essential everyday needs. “The selective focus on second class reflects the fact that it is the most affordable and most widely used segment of passenger rail transport, primarily used by broad sections of the population,” the Ministry of Transport explained.
The current free-transport system will remain unchanged. Adjustments to the prices of SMS tickets will be subject to intensive negotiations between the railway operator and mobile operators, as fares in this form cannot be changed ad hoc through a unilateral decision by the operator. The price reduction will apply only to passenger fares and will therefore not affect international fares, seat reservations, reservations in general, service fees, annual network passes, tickets within integrated transport systems, or additional services such as luggage, bicycles, or dogs.
Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK) said it is preparing to implement the temporary fare reduction from October 1. “We are preparing the necessary tariff, technical, and information adjustments so that the reduced fares will be available through all standard ZSSK sales channels,” said railway operator spokesperson Ján Baček.
According to him, preparations include adjustments to sales and information systems, price lists, passenger information, and materials for employees. “At the same time, from the start of the measure we will monitor passenger volumes and the occupancy of individual services. It is not currently possible to reliably estimate the specific increase in the number of passengers,” the spokesperson added.
Source: TASR
