Nitra considering legal action against RegioJet

The Nitra regional government is considering jumping onboard the lawsuit bandwagon, after Nitra mayor Jozef Dvonč announced that he will fight the transport company RegioJet to protect the town's reputation. This was in response to a local billboard campaign organised by RegioJet, where the company installed billboards on New Year's Day criticising the region. The large billboards read: "Welcome to a region of corruption and clientelism. Region: Nitra. Responsible: Milan Belica, governor. Town: Nitra. Responsible: Jozef Dvonč, mayor." Similar billboards were also placed in Bratislava in response to the refusal of the respective regional authorities to issue a licence to operate a Bratislava-Nitra-Banska Bystrica bus route. "It's Bratislava Regional Government (BSK) which is authorised to decide on granting the licence in this matter. It was only Nitra Regional Government (NSK) Office's transport department that provided a statement of the Nitra municipality with respect to the matter and the statement was against [granting the licence]. Consequently, Nitra Governor [Milan Belica] did not sign any ruling on granting the licence, as there was nothing to sign", said NSK spokesperson Oľga Prekopová. The spokesperson added that due to the "arrogant conduct chosen by RegioJet", NSK is collecting all information released in the media and is ready to protect the good name of the regional authority in accordance with the law. Nitra mayor Jozef Dvonč described the billboard campaign as deceitful, adding that when RegioJet was asking for the licence, the town of Nitra issued a statement that it already "wasn't supportive" of the firm's plan. Dvonč also claimed that Nitra bus station needs refurbishments before more bus routes could operate, and that RegioJet's - a Czech firm that also operates trains - would jam up the main traffic corridors leading to the bus station.