The analysis of the barriers related to the implementation of the flexible transport system in the Košice region within the LAST MILE project found that a significant conceptual solution would be the integration of the elements of flexible transport services in the system of regular public transport after a slow modification of the existing legislation. Regardless of the way of implementation of flexible transport services and the extent of its application in the territory of the Košice region, the main aim is to integrate the elements of flexible transport into the coordinated transport system providing complex transport services. This will ensure the economical use of public resources, and in the best case scenario it can lead to a uniform tariff and information system.
Two of three proposals to modify the existing legislation have been implemented.
The first one defines some of the rarely used regular bus connections as „dial-a-bus“ and allows for more cost-effective transport services.
The second option allows the co-financing of shuttle services as services carried out in a public interest by deleting the text „recreational and touristic“ from the transport legislation. This adjustment allows entrepreneurs to support tourism through the co-financing of public services.
The last option – the creation of alternative routes to the regular bus transport and detours from regular routes only if necessary, is not implemented yet.
As new improvements in the transport legislation are in force, there are already examples of their utilisation in the Košice region. The fast bus which runs through the Kopanecka road in the Slovak Paradise National Park during the summer seasons and which was inspired by the LAST MILE project, is partly funded by a bus operator, partly by the tourism organisation and partly by the regional government. It is an example of successful cooperation between different entities in the region. The second example concerns rarely used regular bus connections which the regional government has been reclassified to “call buses” in the new timetable.
