Partly in connection with the launch of Volvo’s Valaliky plant in 2026, the municipalities of Košice and Prešov districts commissioned IDS Východ to develop a unified public transport and fare system in eastern Slovakia, which will be ready by the end of 2024. The new fare system will cover more than 1 100 municipalities in total, divided into 130 zones, and fares will be based on the number of zones crossed during the journey, regardless of the means of transport used. In addition, a single monthly fare and discount system has been introduced for the whole region.
However, the new system does not apply to the Hungarian side of the border, despite the fact that thousands of Slovak citizens have settled in the border zone over the past decade, a trend that is expected to be reinforced by the Volvo plant.
Public transport connections within the area are currently provided by the Intercity (Hernád/Hornád) Budapest-Miskolc-Košice line, with 6 train pairs per day, and by the bus 802 418 and 802 818 between Košice and Hidasnémeti, which run 13 times on working days. However, the recently introduced fare system cannot be applied on these services, only individual tickets can be purchased, according to the international tariff. A further problem is that although 6 new road border crossings have been built in the area around Košice in the last almost two decades, the vast majority of them have a weight limit of 3.5 tonnes, which does not allow the passage of buses.
A derogation on weight limits for buses would require an intergovernmental agreement. The competent authorities are currently negotiating a draft intergovernmental agreement on border crossings which could include this element. The development of a cross-border tariff system implies at the same time the settlement of VAT rules, the prohibition of cabotage and accounting arrangements. The legislation concerned is partly at EU level and partly at national level, but an agreement between authorities and operators could address the situation.
The authorities are not opposed to negotiations, but the merger of rail and bus companies in Hungary means that it is not currently appropriate to start them.
A delegation from IDS Východ gave a presentation at the workshop in Hidasnémeti, outlining the main obstacles. The workshop was attended by a representative of the Hungarian Institute of Transport Sciences, on behalf of the Hungarian Ministry of Construction and Transport (ÉKM), who outlined the conditions for the development of an integrated system in Hungary.
The CESCI representatives contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding the lifting of the weight restriction.
There will also be a need to harmonise the development plans of the two border counties, as the spatial development plan of the county of Košice, which was drawn up in connection with the establishment of the Volvo plant, does not take into account the Hungarian side in any way (this is not even required by national legislation). In this respect, CESCI approached the Via Carpatia EGTC, which includes the two counties, and thus could provide the framework for harmonising the plans.
There are cross-border integrated systems, e.g. in the Geneva area, but there is also a separate tariff system for the EGRONet network on the border between the Czech Republic and Germany.
The EgroNet network connects the public transport systems of four regions on the German-Czech border, allowing travel with a single ticket in the historical Czech Republic, Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia. Based on the principle of territoriality, each authority provides transport services separately, and a working group is responsible for their coordination (e.g. fares, timetables, marketing). EgroNet tickets are valid for buses, trains, trams and local public transport.
The extension of the Slovak system to the Hungarian border region requires intervention in three areas of activity in parallel.
Cross-border public transport options are limited or completely absent (especially regarding Rajka – Mosonmagyaróvár – Bratislava; Salgótarján – Fiľakovo – Rimavská Sobota; Nové Mesto – Sátoraljaújhely; Balassagyarmat – Ipolytarnóc – Lučenec).
This obstacle is not legal, but financial in nature. Any bus or train company can initiate the launch of a cross-border service, for this it only needs to obtain the necessary permission from the transport authority to start the international service on one side, and on the other side it has to request permission to use the relevant stops and stations. Since operating a Rajka – Bratislava bus route, for example, would cost around 250,000 euros, it depends on the financial capacities of the two municipalities whether they start the procurement. At the same time, the Hungarian and Slovak governments can decide to finance the operation of such lines despite the financial losses, primarily citing economic and social interests, for example, as the Slovak Minister of Transport Jozef Ráž recently announced plans to launch a total of 8 cross-border railway lines.
The project is financially supported by the European Union,
within the framework of the Interreg Hungary – Slovakia Programme.
For more information visit www.skhu.eu.
The project is financially supported by the European Union,
within the framework of the Interreg Hungary – Slovakia Programme.
For more information visit www.skhu.eu.