Intense investments to enhance the quality of services

The debate about transport is always a complex one. Transport is such an integral part of our everyday life and we all consider ourselves experts – we think we know best which new road project should have priority, how the rail timetable should be improved, and we think we know the ideal system that should be implemented in the future. However, while our perceptions will differ, we all share the same goals – safer, faster and more comfortable ways of reaching our destinations. As Minister of Transport in Slovakia, it is a pleasure and an honour for me to have the opportunity to contribute to this debate on achieving our common goals, particularly at a time when public transport in Slovakia is facing historical changes.

The railways present the easiest means of introducing change in Slovakia as the Ministry is the sole owner of the largest public-service passenger transport company – Slovak Railways (ZSSK). To date, the introduction of the so-called clock-face scheduling timetable, commonly used in neighbouring countries, has probably been the most radical change we have brought to the railway system. I must admit, however, that some of the accompanying changes proved unpopular, notably concentrating traffic on routes offering adequate future passenger potential and investment returns. Another important step has been the higher budget allocation for public interest services, which will mean more trains on the Slovak railways than today. We expect the new timetables and more trains to result in higher volumes of services and, in particular, more passenger satisfaction with this ecological and safe means of transport.

Getting from point A to B is not enough, though. We require a certain level of comfort while travelling. And here, I am very happy to say that, as we add more trains, so does the quality of the service improve. More than 60 modern regional trains will be supplied under the government’s current EU-funded programme. More than half of these are in service already, helping to integrate our regional transport systems. Furthermore, I wish to underline that this effort will continue through future government programmes. I think that a comfortable train running to a decent timetable is a more-than-adequate substitute for the private car, especially for those heading towards city centres with their traffic jams and parking problems.

Commuter facilities need to be closely integrated with the public transport facilities available within our town centres. First steps have already been made with the opening of the first sections of the integrated transport network connecting all the crucial transport systems between Bratislava (the capital city) and the nearby region of Záhorie. The smooth develop – ment of this initiative may serve as an inspiration for other large communities in Slovakia and, gradually, a single ticket for public commuter and city transport may become the norm in our towns.

A very important and long-awaited project reached the implementation stage recently. This will see a light-rail connection between Petržalka, the largest housing estate in Slovakia with more than 100,000 residents, and Bratislava on the opposite bank of the River Danube. The vast majority of people living in Petržalka cross the Danube every day, and the only available public transport is the bus service. Traffic jams on the bridges are an everyday reality at peak hours. Hence we have begun to build the new link, which will use what we call the ‘Starý Most’ or ‘Old Bridge’. This will play a critical role in our overall network of public transport, though its full effects will only be visible after completion of the second phase which will see the light-railroad developed throughout the Petržalka area.

Besides the light-rail project, the EU funding is assisting the modernisation of several tram routes, and the purchase of new trams and trolleybuses, for our two largest cities, Bratislava and Košice.

The rectification of old mistakes and the harmonisation of passenger train and bus services are the two largest challenges for the coming years in the public transport sector. Nowadays, trains are subsidised at the national level and buses by the regional authorities, which often results in overlapping bus and train routes and services, with both only reaching about half of their available capacity. We require a system which will eliminate these inefficiencies and make subsidised train and bus services complementary rather than competitive.

This has been but a brief overview of the big challenges facing public transport in Slovakia. I have scarcely mentioned the leaps in highways construction, where the progress is now measured in kilometres. Our plan to invest more than €8 billion in transport until the end of 2016 has built-up considerable momentum. The new infrastructure is being built intensively and is coming on line almost daily, with inevitable, significant, and most welcome enhancements to the quality of our services.