Spatial differences in public transport accessibility of district centres in the Prešov region, Slovakia

The issue of public transport accessibility of localities and regions is one of the key research themes of transport geography. The EU defines public transport as one of the services of “general economic interest”, which means that its organization should be based on the principles of solidarity and equal access for all citizens of the state and its regions. The study of transport accessibility of 13 district centres in the peripheral and economically underdeveloped Prešov administrative region (Slovakia) from the municipalities of their immediate hinterlands expressed by the number of direct bus and train connections is aimed at identifying the spatial differentiation of individual intraregional accessibilities. The realization of the research pursues the objective,to point out by the comparison of the theoretical and real values of direct transport connections, to the possible existence of discrepancies in the public transport services of individual municipalities in relation to their higher hierarchical district’s centre.