Slovak PM Fico Promises Cheaper Train and Bus Travel

Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced plans to reduce the cost of train and bus travel in Slovakia. The promise recalls Fico's 2014 post-election pledge to introduce free rail travel for students and seniors, one of the most significant developments in Slovak railway history. At that time, Fico's announcement caught the management of state railway company ZSSK completely off guard, with executives learning about the policy from a press conference at a Smer-SD party meeting in Bratislava. Railway officials had initially hoped Fico would limit free travel to seniors only, according to accounts from that period. Smer-SD is Slovakia's ruling social-democratic party that has dominated the country's politics for much of the past two decades under Fico's leadership.