Our dean Danislav Drašković and professor Slavko Davidović gave recommendations for better public transport at the conference to which they were invited as experts

"A 1.50 KM ticket instead of the current 2.30 KM and a subsidy to transport operators would increase the use of public transport and reduce urban congestion," said the dean of "Apeiron" at a meeting in the Youth Center

Our dean Danislav Drašković and professor Slavko Davidović gave recommendations for better public transport at the conference to which they were invited as experts

"Budget allocations for public city passenger transport (JGTP) are not an expense, but an investment in profit, which is reflected in less congestion, faster travel and a healthier life in the city," stressed Prof. Dr. Danislav Drašković, dean of the Faculty of Transportation of the Pan-European University yesterday in the Youth Center, at the conference and panel discussion "The Future of Public Transportation", which he attended with his colleague, Assoc. Dr. Slavko Davidović.

The Center for the Environment organized the meeting, with the aim of opening a space for a constructive discussion about the current state and future of public passenger transport in our city for all relevant actors - from local government representatives and experts in the field of transport to citizens and service users.

"We need an optimal network of lines available to all parts of the city, a maximum number of departures, a shorter, cheaper and more comfortable journey by public transport compared to a car. The JGTP study, whose investor is the City of Banja Luka, and I am one of the authors, proposed a ticket price of 1.50 KM instead of the current 2.30 KM, a reduction of all monthly tickets by 25% and an increase in the number of departures, for which subsidies should be provided in the initial phase according to to the carrier in the amount of approx. 4 KM/year. In this way, the use of public transport would significantly increase, and urban congestion would decrease", emphasized Dean Drašković.

He points out that in the peak hour, 10 buses at the same time transport 800-1000 passengers, which takes up 300 meters of roadway length, and for the same number of passengers, 800-900 cars are needed, which takes up the surface of the street network of approximately 10 kilometers - and that is the main source of congestion. He emphasized the need to redefine the parking policy, control non-resident parking lots and categorize parking lots. The solution would be Portal Smart parking, which would allow the driver to reserve a parking space while driving and make payment, which would eliminate "wandering" in search of a parking space, and congestion would be reduced. "With the increase in demand, the price of parking is also increasing, in such a way that the daily use of the parking lot for such users will be very expensive, and the use of JGTP will be convenient", added the professor.

On behalf of the City Administration, Slavko Davidović, assistant professor of the Traffic Faculty of "Apeiron" University and coordinator of the preparation of the mentioned study in front of the client, took part, and our students also listened to this current and very attractive topic.

"Without a well-organized system of public passenger transportation, as one of the transportation subsystems, it is impossible to have an efficient and high-quality transportation system, nor a high-quality life in the city, and the implementation of the conclusions and recommendations from the Study should lead to exactly that," says Assoc. Dr. Davidović.

In the past weeks, the organizer gave citizens the opportunity to fill out a survey on the quality of public transport services in Banja Luka, and at the conference the results were presented and an insight into the views and needs of citizens was provided.

We would like to remind you that the Faculty of Transportation of "Apeiron" University and its Scientific Research Institute have resources and capacities for the development of certain projects based on the application software of intelligent transport systems.