Slovakia to Halve Bus and Tram Fares for One Month

Slovakia's transport minister Jozef Ráž announced on September 30 that suburban bus and city public transport fares will be cut by 50 percent, extending a discount already applied to second-class train tickets, as the government responds to high fuel prices.¹²

Bus discount to follow rail cut

The government had already approved a 50 percent reduction in second-class train fares, which took effect on October 1 and is set to last 30 days. Ráž said the same 50 percent reduction would now apply to suburban buses and city public transport in regional cities, though the bus and MHD discount cannot begin until October 12 because bus company ticketing systems are not technically able to implement it from October 1.²¹⁴

Ráž said earlier proposals had envisaged different discount levels for suburban buses and city transport, but calculating separate rates was found to be technically impossible, so a uniform 50 percent reduction was adopted instead. "Predtým sa hovorilo o inej výške zliav pre prímestskú autobusovú dopravu a MHD, to by však bolo technicky nemožné rozrátať," he said.¹

According to Ráž, the sum agreed for the measure should be acceptable to the ministry of finance. "Dospeli sme k sume, o ktorej si myslím, že bude akceptovateľná pre ministerstvo financií," he said, adding that the government was expected to take up the matter at its current session.²

Fuel margins capped

In addition to the fare reductions, Slovakia has capped the profit margin that fuel stations can add at 10 cents per litre starting October 1, a step that limits station markups rather than fixing retail prices outright. Data cited in the dossier indicate that, during the week before the cap took effect, Slovakia had the fourth-cheapest diesel among all EU member states and the cheapest of any Visegrad Four country.¹

In September, the ministry of transport had opened negotiations with regions and cities on the bus and MHD fare cuts, and the government had earlier offered municipalities compensation on condition that they lower basic fares on buses, trolleybuses or trams by 50 percent. "State offers financial compensation on condition that basic fares on buses, trolleybuses or trams are reduced by 50 percent," the government said. The government also planned to provide subsidies to all eight regions to cut suburban bus fares by 30 percent.⁵

Criticism and unresolved issues

The road transport association Česmad Slovakia, according to Info.sk, criticized the halved train fares for not addressing what it called the root cause of the crisis, and called for the state to intervene directly on fuel prices. Ráž responded that fuel pricing falls under the ministry of economy rather than his own ministry. "Táto téma nie je úplne správne adresovaná na naše ministerstvo, keďže my neriešime ceny palív, to je ministerstvo hospodárstva," he said.³

Refresher.sk reported that 42 percent of Slovakia's population does not use any form of public transport, and described the fare cuts as part of a strategy to ease congestion on the road network by encouraging drivers to switch from personal cars to buses and trams.⁵