From 2020 Slovenian government introduced free public transport for pensioners. For three years now, pensioners have been able to travel free of charge by bus or train across the country.
While 230.000 beneficiaries have a free ticket (pensioners, over-65s, disabled card holders and war veterans), around 100.000 beneficiaries, mainly pensioners, actually use it.
The introduction of free tickets brings many positive benefits for the beneficiaries, namely:
- Increasing opportunities to live independently and maintain social contacts and travel
- Safe and free mobility throughout Slovenia
- The multiplier effect of the implementation of the concept of sustainable mobility (reduction of CO2 emissions);
- Less traffic on the roads, time savings for users due to optimisation of transport.
Slovenian seniors have received this initiative with enthusiasm; many seniors, usually in small groups, make day trips around the country. Even in bad weather, they take a ride, chat, sing, read or knit while driving, some of them only to have a short stroll and coffee at the destination and then back home. Some seniors who by now did not move much around, became keen travellers. This initiative turned out to be a very efficient preventive measure for activation of seniors, as it allows them to visit other places, meet other people, spend some precious time out of their house.
However, the Environment Ministry has received complaints that pupils, students and employees cannot get on buses at peak times because they are overcrowded because there are so many free pass holders on them. Therefore, the government might restrict these free passes, when and how can be used in the future.
Photo: Alenka Ogrin