Morning in Michalovce. You need to go to work in Kosice, you arrive at the bus station — and instead of guessing if you'll be lucky with a bus today, you just look at the clock. The bus leaves every half hour, and during rush hour — every 15 minutes. This is how regional transport in eastern Slovakia should look starting next week.
From August 1, 2026, an expanded system of scheduled (interval) bus service will start in the Kosice and Presov regions. The changes will affect 75 bus lines, and for those who commute to work or school between the towns of Zemplin every day, this is one of the most noticeable transport changes in recent years.
Why the schedules are changing now
The direct reason is the completion of the modernization and electrification of the 33.5 km railway section Bánovce nad Ondavou – Humenné. When the Ministry of Transport decided to run trains every hour all day on the tracks, the bus schedules had to be rewritten: buses are meant to complement trains, not duplicate them.
The project is being implemented by the company IDS Východ (Integrated Transport System East Slovakia, which combines buses and trains into one schedule and one ticket) together with four regional carriers: ARRIVA Michalovce, eurobus, SAD Prešov, and SAD Humenné.
How often the buses will run
The most frequent service will be on the busiest routes — Košice – Sečovce, Hriadky – Michalovce, Michalovce – Sobrance, and Prešov – Vranov nad Topľou:
On weekdays — an interval of 30 minutes.
During rush hour — in some places up to 15 minutes.
Between Michalovce and Humenné — hourly, with increased frequency to 30 minutes during rush hour.
Weekend schedules will be organized to avoid long gaps until Monday.
New transfer hubs will be Michalovce, Sobrance, and Vranov nad Topľou. Bus schedules will be coordinated there with each other and with trains. For example, changing from a bus from Presov to Humenné will take six minutes, and in the opposite direction — twelve.
More buses to the border with Ukraine
After the opening of the pedestrian crossing in Vyšné Nemecké, the number of direct buses to Kosice will increase from three to eight on weekdays and to five on weekends. With a transfer in Sobrance or Michalovce, you will also be able to get to Presov. If you regularly travel to the border, planning your trip will become noticeably easier.
What this will achieve and what to do
According to the IDS Východ transport model, the new schedule is expected to lead to a 9% increase in passenger numbers — that's over 1600 people daily on key routes. Regional authorities expect that additional ticket revenue will cover the costs of expansion (which is about 200,000 extra kilometers driven per year) and even reduce the need for subsidies.
Practical steps before August 1:
Check your usual route in the new schedule on the IDS Východ website and www.cp.sk — some departures have shifted in time.
If you use IDS tickets, the bus-train transfer within the same ticket remains — just check the times at the new hubs.
Routes that have not changed since August 1 will be adjusted in December, so another wave of changes is expected in the fall.
Details of the changes and quotes from regional leaders are in the SITA article. As Gejza Sačko, general director of Arriva Michalovce, summarized: passengers no longer need to plan their day around one specific bus — if you miss one, the next one will be in half an hour.
