Tourist summer bus
About this good practice
One of the main reasons for the introduction of Tourist summer bus through the Kopanec pass in 2018 was the effort to increase the attractiveness of the southern part of the Slovak Paradise National Park, which is less visited than the northern part and also sparsely populated. The establishment of this bus connection was made possible by the reconstruction of the road III/3227 between the villages of Hrabušice and Stratená.
In 2021, the summer bus operated on two routes connecting Spišská Nová Ves to the south of the Slovak Paradise. The first route went from Spišská Nová Ves to the south of the Slovak Paradise and back through the Grajnár pass. The second also from Spišská Nová Ves and went to the south of the Slovak Paradise and back, but through the Kopanec pass.
As a part of the line through the Kopanec pass, a special bicycle carrier has been connected to the bus at summer weekends, thanks to which cyclists can also use the connection for transport to the national park and back. It can accommodate up to 14 bicycles and trained staff is available on the bus to operate it. This service supports intramodality by connecting walking, cycling and public transport.
In case that cyclists would like to get from the town of Spišská Nová Ves to the Kopanec pass by bicycle, they would have to use road III/3244, which, according to the national census, is used by more than 12,700 vehicles a day.
Resources needed
The average costs of the operator were € 1.31 per vehicle km. The route from Spišská Nová Ves to Stratená through Kopanec pass is 50 km long.
The purchase of the bicycle trailer was funded from Last mile project.
One additional employee was needed on the bus with bicycle trailer for 1 day a week.
Evidence of success
Given the high 37 percent decrease in the number of passengers in regular suburban bus transport, a more modest 27% decrease in 2021 or even a 30% increase in 2020 can be considered a success. In addition, this situation was achieved without special promotion of a specific connection or the possibility of transporting bicycles within it. The operator plans to continue operating the service and transporting bicycles in the next years.
Potential for learning or transfer
The creation of a Tourist summer bus through the Kopanec was primarily initialised by DMO Slovak Paradise & Spis in 2018, and since then there have been several improvements to the services provided. In 2020 a bicycle trailer and steward were added. For the year 2022, based on the requirements of local stakeholders, the operation of the seasonal bus is discussed also for other days of the week.
The connection through the Kopanec pass, equipped with a trailer for transporting bicycles, supports intramodality within the framework of transporting tourists to the destination. The bus station is also located near the railway station and so in addition to linking bus transport with cycling and hiking, it also connects more distant origins of journeys accessible by rail transport.