Bratislava, the capital of the Slovak Republic, is experiencing challenges regarding transport in and around the city.
For example, the D4/R7 bypass construction is causing worries to many citizens commuting to the capital for different reasons. Not only is the completion of parts of the structure constantly delayed, there was also the case of illicit material under some of its parts brought to light by the media. Earlier in July, the Ministry of Transport and Construction reported that soil samples extracted from the site contained illicit substances such as asbestos. Although asbestos doesn't pose a threat to human health if buried underground, handling it is dangerous and it shouldn't lie beneath a motorway. An official from D4R7 Construction, the Bratislava Bypass project concessionaire, told the TASR press agency that the illicit material used in the 500-metre stretch of the D4 highway construction site is harmful neither to human health nor the environment, as corroborated by a new set of tests conducted by accredited independent experts. "The Transport Ministry was apprised of new tests carried out in co-operation with international experts from three independent laboratories in Germany, Denmark and Austria, with an eye towards finding the most acceptable environmental-friendly solution," a D4R7 Construction official told TASR.
Public transport in the capital is another hot issue, not only in the summer. At a press conference held on Thursday, Bratislava Transport Company promised wide-ranging improvements in public transport by the end of 2019. With the slogan "Our aim is the same", the mass transit provider in the Slovak capital aims to encourage passengers to get involved in the process of improving the way of travelling in their city themselves. "We have made it possible to send us their comments directly on Facebook," said Martin Žarnovický from the Bratislava Transport Company on Thursday. So far, the comments regard better intervals of the busiest lines, changing bus routes or adding air-conditioning to more vehicles. The company expressed their wish to direct more lines to the city centre in order to improve changing for trams. At the same time, the Bratislava Transport Company is working on extending public transport to the newly built city boroughs such as Bory and Slanec.
