




































AGORA International Journal of Economical Sciences, http://univagora.ro/jour/index.php/aijes 

ISSN 2067-3310, E-ISSN 2067-7669 

No. 1 (2023), pp. 24-30 

 

24 
 

MARKETING INNOVATIONS IN CROSS-BORDER PASSENGER 

TRANSPORTATION 

 

Iryna Honcharova¹, Tetіana Metil², Viktor Koval³, Illia Neskhodovskyiº 

Dept. of Business and Tourism Management, Izmail State Humanities University, Ukraine 

¹ https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2607-6698, E-mail: cehovich2610@gmail.com  

² https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4553-4343 

³ https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2562-4373 

º https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3044-2163 

 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

Abstract. The development of innovations in various areas of economic activity has its own 

characteristics. There are a number of unique features for the development of passenger 

transport routes, which should be considered in more detail than in the planning of freight 

transport, and characterize this type of activity as particularly unique and requires a 

specialized approach in marketing innovations in this area. The presented article outlines the 

basic principles and concepts of the approach both when working with the material and 

technical base and when working with personnel in the course of planning and implementing 

innovations in passenger transportation. Particular attention is paid to the system of 

motivation for the implementation of the innovation process since the result of the 

introduction of innovation depends on the degree of motivation of potential subjects of the 

innovation process. Also, options for communication are considered both directly with 

potential consumers of the service created in the process of innovative activity and with local 

authorities in those regions where it is planned to carry out the innovative activity. 

Keywords: marketing innovations, passenger transportation, carbon footprint reduction, 

motivation, innovation roadmap. 

 

 

INTRODUCTION 

Modern aspirations to reduce the carbon footprint can be viewed from the point of 

view of the transportation of passengers from two fundamentally different positions. The first 

position includes technological changes in terms of personal transport, which is still 

progressing rather slowly due to the high cost of development results, which makes them 

inaccessible to the vast majority of the population. The second position is to offer a 

convenient way of transportation for passengers in order to reduce the use of personal 

vehicles. For the success of the second position, it is necessary to revise existing routes and 

develop new ones, including cross-border ones, in order to maximize the convenience of 

passengers' movement while causing minimal harm to the environment (Honcharova & 

Metil, 2022). Passenger convenience will come from the fact that the time spent driving a 

private car can be used much more rationally in the era of virtual production and 

communication, that is, instead of wasting time on amateur driving, people can spend it 

studying correspondence, performing certain types of work, that can be done electronically 

and other things that cannot be done while driving a personal car.  

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2607-6698
mailto:cehovich2610@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4553-4343
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2562-4373


Iryna HONCHAROVA, Tetіana METIL, Viktor KOVAL, Illia NESKHODOVSKYI 

 

25 
 

The reduction of the carbon footprint will be facilitated by the fact that passenger 

transport is much easier to convert to environmentally friendly technologies than private 

transport (Koval et al., 2022). However, at the same time, the comfort of passengers should 

not suffer, that is, it is necessary to radically change the approach to the choice of rolling 

stock for the implementation of all passenger traffic in general and cross-border in particular. 

 

I. Literature review 

The problem of optimizing and bringing the passenger transportation system in line 

with modern requirements has now faded into the background, however, authors such as 

Comfort (2020) and Munby (2014) are of the opinion that an efficiently functioning 

passenger transportation system is of high social importance. These authors are of the opinion 

that there is a need for deep innovation in this industry. In turn, such authors as Dias (2018), 

Kunret (2018), and Pfohl (2022) note that in the computer era, planning and implementation 

of various types of transportation, including passenger transportation, should be taken in a 

new way. As Kunret (2018) emphasizes, the main stabilizing factor at present is complete and 

reliable information, which is promptly communicated to all participants in the transport and 

logistics process (Kunert, 2018). In turn, Pfohl (2022) provides clear economic requirements 

for the passenger route as an object of logistics infrastructure. In general, all authors consider 

passenger transportation mainly from an economic point of view. 

 

II. Results 

II.1. Motivation to development of innovations 

 The main motivation for the development of innovative activity is the increase in the 

economic efficiency of enterprises. Passenger traffic is characterized to some extent by 

seasonality, variability in passenger traffic, different density of potential passenger traffic for 

different areas and many other features that should be taken into account when developing 

specific routes and considered along with such facts as the presence of border checkpoints 

along the route (Fragerberg, et al., 2006). Despite the presence of a number of factors that 

negatively affect the potential route, the benefits of developing a new route for both the 

transport company and the population living in the territories that will be served by this route 

should also be taken into account (Comfort, 2020). 

The diagram in Figure 1 shows the implications for an area for which a new passenger route 

is proposed as an innovation. 

 

Figure 1. Consequences for the area after the opening of a new passenger route. (Compiled by 

the author) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Passenger 

 Transportation Route 

Economic Consequences Social Consequences 

Access to new 

job markets 

New markets for 

households and farmers 

Access to 
goods and 

services 

Degree of feeling 

of personal 

freedom 

Interper-sonal 

communi-

cation 

 



MARKETING INNOVATIONS IN CROSS-BORDER PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION 

 

26 
 

If we consider in more detail the consequences for the region after the introduction of 

a new route for passenger transportation, then the motivation for introducing innovations in 

passenger transportation in general and in particular through the development and 

implementation of a new route will be more widely revealed. As can be seen from Figure 1, 

all impacts can be divided into two main categories: economic and social. The economic 

consequences include the opening of new markets for the population. The main thing will be 

the opening of a new labor market, since in practice there are quite often disproportions in the 

professional composition between the unemployed and the available vacancies. New 

passenger routes can help smooth them out through labor redistribution opportunities. It may 

also open new markets for households and farmers, which will raise the level of well-being of 

the backbone of any economy - the household (Karlsson, et al., 2009). Thus, the possibility of 

reducing unemployment, increasing tax inflows from employees, households and farmers is a 

motive for local authorities to look for opportunities to open new passenger routes (Koval, et 

al., 2023). 

Access to goods and services is not only an economic, but also a social consequence 

of the introduction of a new passenger route, since from an economic point of view, an 

increase in trade serves to form a more sustainable economy in the region, and from a social 

point of view, it makes it possible to improve the quality of life of the population, since 

access to a wider range of goods and services may also mean access to a greater number of 

medical services provided by private and public companies, that is, it improves the quality of 

life of the population in various areas of physiological existence (Nagaraj, 2021). 

 

II.2. Plan for innovation in passenger transportation 

 When drawing up a marketing plan for any innovation, the stages of innovation should be 

clearly defined, for which an innovation roadmap is drawn up. Figure 2 presents a roadmap 

for innovation in the passenger transportation industry. 

Figure 2. Innovation Roadmap: "New Passenger Route". (Compiled by the author) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

III. Market Demand Study 

 When studying the market in order to create a new route for passenger transportation, special 

attention should be paid to a survey of potential consumers of the proposed service. In order 

to obtain objective and reliable information, it is necessary to conduct full-scale surveys of 

residents in all settlements according to the proposed route patterns (Tobelmann, 2011). 

In modern conditions, it is possible to conduct a survey of potential consumers using 

electronic means, limiting the possibility of submitting a response from each device only 

once (Boland, 2014). If it is necessary to conduct a study in areas where Internet technologies 

are poorly developed, it is possible to contact the local authorities for help in conducting a 

survey of residents. 

Market 

Demand 

Study 

Supply 

Opportunity 

Research 

Comparison of 

Demand and 

Economic 

Efficiency 

Plan to Match 

Supply with 

Demand 

New 

Passenger 

Route 



Iryna HONCHAROVA, Tetіana METIL, Viktor KOVAL, Illia NESKHODOVSKYI 

 

27 
 

As an example, let's consider data on non-regular transportation carried out by Bolgradtrans 

JSC for the period 2020-2022. Figures 5-8 show graphs of passenger traffic for the main 

traffic routes in Romania and Bulgaria. 

Figure 3. Passenger traffic to Galati, Romania                       Figure 4. Passenger traffic to 

Constanta, Romania 

   
Figure 5. Passenger traffic to Bucharest, Romania          Figure 6. Passenger traffic to Varna, 

Bulgaria   

  
Figure 7. Passenger traffic to Balchik, Bulgaria               Figure 8. Passenger traffic to Sofia, 

Bulgaria   

 
(Fig.3-8 Compiled by the author) 

 

III.1. Supply Opportunity Research 

The study of the capabilities of carriers operating in the region is carried out in terms 

of the availability of rolling stock, the quality of rolling stock and the formation of a 

professional staff of drivers for passenger transportation. As mentioned earlier, one of the 

missions of opening new passenger routes is to reduce the carbon footprint. To achieve this 

1240

2460

3880

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

2020 2021 2022

Galati, Romania

650

1400

2105

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2020 2021 2022

Constanta, Romania

400

980

1850

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2020 2021 2022

Bucharest and Otopeni 
(international airports), Romania

1100
1300

1650

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2020 2021 2022

Varna and Kovarna, Bulgaria

1420

1760 1840

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2020 2021 2022

Sofia, Bulgaria

800 750

1250

0

500

1000

1500

2020 2021 2022

Balchik and General Toshevo, 
Bulgaria



MARKETING INNOVATIONS IN CROSS-BORDER PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION 

 

28 
 

goal, it is necessary to clearly follow the policy of improving the quality of rolling stock for 

passenger transportation (Comfort, 2020). Therefore, when considering new possibilities for 

the implementation of transportation, it is necessary to consider the rolling stock both in 

terms of the comfort of transporting passengers and in terms of safety for the environment 

(Trachenko et al., 2021). When planning cross-border passenger routes, it is necessary to take 

into account the requirements for the rolling stock of all states through whose territory the 

route will pass. 

If we consider the personnel potential, then for the selection of drivers for passenger 

routes, it is necessary to consider candidates who are not inclined to create conflict situations, 

who have positive thinking and, in the case of cross-border transportation, speak the 

necessary languages to communicate with employees of bus stations and passengers. 

 

III.2. Comparison of Demand and Economic Efficiency 

 To study the effectiveness of a potential passenger route, it is necessary to carry out a 

number of calculations. Initially, for each section between two settlements, it is necessary to 

determine the number of potential passengers (PP) for a certain unit of time, for example, per 

month, and then determine the number of possible seats (PS) provided by carriers. Then you 

can calculate the density of demand (in %) using the formula 1. 

𝐷𝐷 =
𝑃𝑃

𝑃𝑆
∗ 100%             (1) 

In the case when the density of demand is below 50%, the route will be economically 

inefficient, however, to serve potential customers, it can be laid so that passengers can use it, 

but with a transfer. If the resulting potential demand is between 50% and 75%, further 

research is needed to determine the frequency of the route, as some routes are more popular 

on weekdays and some are more popular on weekends. When obtaining a demand density 

above 75%, it is necessary to plan a systematic movement along this route (Munby & 

Watson, 2014). 

 

III.3. Plan to Match Supply with Demand 

 If quantitative indicators were more significant to determine the economic efficiency 

of the passenger transportation route, then to bring the supply in line with demand, the quality 

factors of the services provided are much more significant. The quality of the services 

provided in the implementation of passenger transportation currently means not only the 

comfort of the cabin of a passenger bus, but also comfort at stops, and, most importantly, the 

presence of an electronic notification system about the movement of the bus along the route 

(Frey & Osterloh, 2013). It is especially important to have an electronic notification system 

when planning a cross-border route, since the imperfection of the system of border and 

customs control does not allow drivers of such routes to strictly adhere to the time frames of 

movement along the route. The solution to the problem of long-term border and customs 

control can be the creation of a passenger database, in which information about passengers 

will be entered at bus stations or by the driver by scanning biometric passports when 

boarding a bus on a cross-border route. 

If we consider the electronic notification system about the movement of the bus along 

the route, then it can be an integral part of the mobile application, the functionality of which 



Iryna HONCHAROVA, Tetіana METIL, Viktor KOVAL, Illia NESKHODOVSKYI 

 

29 
 

will include both obtaining information about the available seats on the route of interest to the 

passenger, the level of comfort of the bus provided, the availability and location of empty 

seats. In addition, the fare payment service should be available through the application, in the 

case of a cross-border route - in any of the currencies of those countries through which the 

route passes, and through the application the opportunity should be provided at the bus 

station to enter the relevant data of the international passport into this application (Machado 

& Davim, 2022). 

 

CONCLUSIONS 

 Innovation is the basis for progressive growth in all areas of society. It is impossible 

to consider separately the economic and social effect of the introduction of innovations, since 

they are closely interconnected and form the quality of life of end consumers of goods and 

services. When forming innovations in the transport sector, especially in the field of 

passenger cross-border transportation, there are a number of problems, the solution of which 

requires an integrated approach both from the side of business and from the side of the 

authorities, many state structures. The ultimate goal of the formation of innovations in 

passenger transportation, especially in cross-border ones, is both to increase the degree of 

freedom of movement of citizens, and the possibility of intercultural and intersocial 

exchanges, which will give a positive dual effect for the mutual development of participants 

in such contacts. Another positive effect of introducing innovations in passenger cross-border 

transportation is the reduction of the carbon footprint, which is one of the main tasks of 

modern society. 

 

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