50% discount for train commuters coming

People who commute to work by train will have a 50-percent discount on regular fare from February 1. The Cabinet approved the measure proposed by Transport Minister Jan Počiatek on Wednesday. Employees who commute to work by train currently have a 30-percent discount. Those eligible for the discount will be passengers with weekly and monthly train season tickets in 2nd class carriages in national transport. The increase in discounts for commuters who use trains to and from their workplace is primarily designed to bolster the mobility of the labour force, Transport, Construction and Regional Development Minister Jan Počiatek said after a Government session on Wednesday. "We'll use the existing [discounts] system to enable the new measure. As a result, we don't envisage any issues in registrations or functioning of the system, because the system of discounts is already up and running", said the minister in reference to the system currently in effect. The ministry expects revenues of rail companies to drop by €1.35 million. "We believe the measure will be successful and will trigger a rise in passenger numbers. The drop in revenues will be offset by an increase in the number of passengers, which will ultimately boost revenues too", he added. The measure follows up on the introduction of free train travel for certain groups of people, most notably students and pensioners, in November of last year.