All public bus and trolleybus stops in Bratislava will become request stops as of February 13, as the capital's public transport company looks to make savings.
Passengers will have to signal for vehicles to stop, Martin Chlebovec, Bratislava Public Transport (DPB) company spokesman said on Tuesday.
The company believes the move will cut down on fuel use and save almost €0.5 million.
“In light of growing fuel prices, loss of income for municipalities and regions, as well as the situation brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, DPB has been losing millions of euros since 2019,” said Chlebovec, adding the firm expects to report a loss of €35 million in 2023 alone.
The new policy will see journey times shortened by an average of about 10 percent during off-peak hours, while lowering emissions. The change will affect approximately one third of all stops in Bratislava, as a request stop policy is already in place at other stops.
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However, the new policy will not be implemented on DPB's tram lines due to longer stopping distances, their core role in the city's transport network and less significant energy losses for vehicles, the company explained.
