The planned free of charge rail transport for students and pensioners, and significant fare discounts for those who commute to work by train, will entice 8 percent of passengers away from buses, according to the Bus Transport Association (ZAD). It will thus bring a decline of €15.8 million in revenues. As compensation for the loss, bus carriers are demanding that the Government should provide them with subsidies in order to prevent bus connections from being scrapped and fares from being increased. "If the state has found enough money to provide for the loss of receipts in rail transport, it should also financially support regional authorities to cover our expected slump in revenues”, said Bus Transport Association president Peter Pobeha. Children and students aged up to 26, along with pensioners and people aged 62 and over will be able to travel free of charge on selected trains as of November 17. The measure is part of a so-called package of 15 measures aimed at improving the financial, economic and social situation of people in Slovakia that was drawn up by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Robert Fico.
In order to secure the safety and quality of transport on trains, people eligible to travel free of charge will be able to get €0 tickets for only a limited number of seats in a particular train. When selling tickets on a particular train, the state-run railway carrier Zeleznicna spolocnost Slovensko (ZSSK) will give preference to those passengers who have to pay for tickets. This regulation will apply only to fast trains, especially during rush hours and to trains that are typically sold off. Tickets for local trains will be sold to non-paying passengers without any limitations. While during rush hours the company will provide approximately half of the seats on a train to passengers eligible to travel free of charge, on other less crowded trains it will be up to 80 percent of the capacity of a train.
