The pandemic has reduced the number of passengers using public transport. (source: Sme - Jozef Jakubčo)
Thanks to a new application, citizens and visitors to Bratislava and its vicinity can now not only find a bus or train to take them to their desired destination, but they can also use it to directly buy a ticket. Those interested can upload the app for Android as well as iOS free of charge. It is available in Slovak, English and German.
“The Bratislava Region is getting on board with a new trend in public transport reflecting the standards of integrated systems abroad,” said Zuzana Horčíková, general director of Bratislava Integrated Transport (BID) on October 1 when introducing the new app named IDS BK.
The app searches for the nearest stop, calculates the shortest connection to the destination as well as the fare and enables the direct purchase of a ticket. It also enables searches of timetables for all carriers that have joined the integrated transportation system so far. These include the city public transport company, suburban bus companies and both passenger railway companies.
“It is a very good concept that combines several means of transport into one app and thus it is not necessary to combine several tools and make up various transport scenarios,” said Ondrej Macko, editor-in-chief of the TouchIT.sk website.
To use the app, it is necessary to register and create a profile. Within it the user can then buy credit or use VISA, Mastercard or Maestro to buy tickets. Sixty seconds after the purchase the system will generate a QR and number code that serves as ticket.
BID expects that the app will especially appeal to occasional travelers, those buying tickets via text messages and foreign tourists visiting Bratislava and its vicinity.
