euronatur - Info
Local Public Transport in Poland
Description of a EURONATUR-Project
1. Background
In the countries of the former Eastern Bloc the majority of the population used public transport to
get to work, to go shopping, to go on holidays, to go out etc. Accordingly, the public transport system was very well developed. A high frequency of services and an almost round the clock service
were taken for granted.
Following the political changes end of the 1980s beginning of the 1990s the central and eastern
European countries opened up. The countries were not only flooded with enterprises, products and
tourists but also with new political, economic and social models. The transport sector was one to
change dramatically. The - in the eyes of the people - old-fashioned and uncomfortable public
transport vehicles were - wherever possible - exchanged for private vehicles, both in passenger
transport and in the transport of goods. The car as a symbol of freedom, autonomy and economic
well-being began its triumphal march.
The negative consequences of the increasing individual motorised transport were not long in following: traffic jams for miles and miles, damage to roads due to overloading, gridlocked inner
cities, air pollution, noise disturbance and accidents. Parallel to these developments the public
transport system went into crisis. The number of kilometres per person travelled using public
transport fell dramatically and the state cut back on funding, in many instances removed it completely. Services were reduced accordingly and the technical innovation of the railway system and
the local public transport system were completely out of the question.
©European Nature Hertiage Fund (EURONATURE), Info 05/1999
Official policies have supported these developments. Transport policy measures, and hence funding, are focused on road transport. From the point of view of environmental protection this trend is
very worrying. The global climate suffers from increasing CO2 emissions, the increasing use of
land for road construction destroys natural areas and thus habitats of flora and fauna, and people,
animals and plants suffer from air pollution. If we take a look at western European cities we can
also see that the preferential treatment given to cars for many years is now posing huge political
and financial problems for local politicians.
2. Idea for the Project
Against the background of these developments we asked the question as to what could and should
be done in order to maintain the excellent local public transport system at least in part, not just for
environmental reasons but also based on financial considerations. It is much more expensive to
shift passengers and goods from cars and lorries back to public transport than to prevent their migration to motorised individual transport in the first place. Where could we start in order to prevent a repetition of the mistakes being made in transport policy in the West (and which at times
are still being made)? A number of different levels were discerned:
 Transport service: organisational structures, service quality, technical standards
 Local government: transport policy, financial contribution to local public transport
 Regional level: public transport service conglomerate
 National level: legal basis for local public transport, transport policy
Together with the Polish Ecological Club (PKE) in Wroclaw the project was developed and financing was secured from the German Federal Environment Agency. The project entitled "Advice
for Local Public Transport Operations and Accompanying Measures for the Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Transport Development in Poland" commenced in late 1995 in Wroclaw.
A number of starting points were identified:
1. Law on Local Public Transport
The legal basis for local public transport in Poland has been very weak if existent at all. In addition the Central Government withdrew completely from local public transport a few years ago.
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Thus within the project a bill was prepared which is to form the legal basis, and which is also
intended to convince the government that it carries responsibility, including financial responsibility, for local public transport. This draft law is currently being discussed with parliamentarians, and the relevant ministries.
2. Organisation of transport service operations
Following the end of central administration and the handing over of responsibilities for local
public transport to the municipalities, the latter had to devise organisational structures. In the
first two years of the project information was compiled on possible structures including the
model of public services, complete or partial privatisation, and a discussion on the alternatives
was initiated. This discussion is ongoing and is being continued on the local levels.
3. Renovation of a tram line
In the eyes of the public, local public transport will only be attractive if buses and trams are
punctual, comfortable, modern, fast, etc. These conditions are not being met by the local public
transport system in Wroclaw. As part of the project therefore one tramline (including the trams
themselves) is to be completely renovated. The project team including PKE, public transport
company MPK, local transport planning authority ZDiK, and Euronatur chose Line No. 7 which
crosses the city in a north-south direction. Initial planning and renovation works have already
commenced. First rehabilitation works are under way but the problem of financing the new
trams has not been solved yet.
In addition the project supports the development of a new line network and tariff system which
is both necessary in order to improve the efficiency and customer’s comfort if Wroclaw public
transport.
4. Marketing
Another important contribution to making local public transport more attractive is marketing. In
the past people had to use buses and trams as there were no alternatives. However, in the last
years the number of people who rely on public transport has declined steadily. Hence it has become more important to "court" the customers. The project therefore provides insights into e.g.
pricing and scheduling, advertising and image development for transport services.
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5. Public Relations
In order to sensitise and engage the public, politicians and the administration for the issue of local public transport and to inform them on problems associated with traffic, various publications were developed for distribution free of charge. An overhead presentation has been developed which deals with positive and cost effective solutions for local public transport systems. In
the year 2000 a passenger advisory board is to be established which is envisaged to actively
contribute to the development of local public transport in Wroclaw.
6. Public transport service conglomerate
The project aspires to lay the foundations for the establishment of a public transport service
conglomerate in the greater Wroclaw area and in other Polish regions. To this end information
is provided about the organisation, tasks, advantages and disadvantages of such a conglomerate.
At present there is great interest in a number of Polish cities (among them: Wroclaw) in integrating the local passenger railway transport system with the other modes of public transport in
the town. Excursions to Germany are being organised in order to exchange information and experiences in this field.
7. Association of Polish cities
All the larger cities suffer similar transport problems but deal with them in different ways. The
association has been won over as a partner and catalyst for the project, and for the Local Public
Transport Law in particular (see below). At the same time the project promotes the exchange
between the cities and thus contributes to the distribution of positive solutions.
8. European Union
As a candidate country for accession to the European Union Poland is under strong influence
from Brussels. This influence is also being felt in transport policy and transport development.
Despite minor shifts in its views the EU still almost exclusively promotes the development of
motorways, bypasses, high-speed railways and air traffic. Public regional and local transport are
not given consideration. Lobbying work in Brussels is being enhanced in order to change this
situation.
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3. Development of the Project
One of the first and most important steps was to find potential partners for co-operation. Together
with the PKE as a direct project partner a network of experts on both the Polish and the German
sides was developed which has contributed substantially to the successes to date. The project cannot be envisaged without representatives from environmental organisations, employees of
transport service operations, the city's Departments of Works and public transport service conglomerates, representatives of the municipalities, ministries and subordinate authorities as well as
industry representatives.
Together with these various partners we have been able to successfully promote the issue of local
public transport. Until the start of the project local public transport played a minor role in Wroclaw
and in Poland as a whole (with only a few exceptions such as Cracow). In the meantime, however,
NGOs which had been largely concerned with trying to stop the construction of motorways or
which had lobbied for the construction of more cycle paths, as well as the Central Government
have begun to acknowledge the importance of this issue. The Ministry of Transport has meanwhile
delivered various ideas, however tentative, about the role of Central Government in questions of
transport in the cities. Furthermore, there is a growing body of voices in the towns which say that
the potential offered by the existing local public transport system should under no circumstances
be whittled away. They also contribute in a major way to the discussion (not just within the project) about organisational and financial strategies.
The following concrete results have been achieved to date:
 The project has facilitated a number of visits by the Polish colleagues to Germany. The visits to
transport experts as well as to the administration have clarified questions and provided firsthand information, have illuminated interconnections and hence have provided invaluable insights. Also, the participation of German representatives in workshops and conferences in Poland has proved very useful and successful and has increased the acceptance of some project
ideas. By now some Polish transport companies which have participated in trips to Germany
have started to transfer German ideas and solutions to their local situations (esp. in the field of
service, customer information and communication, comfort).
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 In Wroclaw itself the project has brought about a major reversal in transport policy trends. At
the start of our activities the consolidation of the road infrastructure was given priority, but now
it is the local public transport system that is being prioritised politically. The town administration has devised a new transport policy which clearly gives priority to local public transport and
which envisages restrictions for motorised individual transport in the inner city areas. The City
Council has approved the policy in September of 1999. "Our tramline No. 7" is a specific element of that policy.
 Wroclaw’s medium term financial planning has provided for purchasing eight new trams for
Line 7 until the year 2003 - a commitment which could not be thought of one year ago.
Wroclaw will co-operate with two other cities in buying the trams as these cities also want to
purchase only a small amount of trams. Despite this commitment sources of finance for new
trams and other technical innovations are still being sought.
 In the context of German-Polish environmental co-operation the two environment ministries are
negotiating an environmental agreement. In this agreement the German side offers financial
support for environmental investments. If the two sides sign the agreement Wroclaw can benefit from it and would order an additional 15 trams. With a stock of more than 400 trams cars of
which a large part needs renovation, this would be an important step to enhance the attractiveness and efficiency of Wroclaw’s public transport. And both is crucial if the environmentally
friendly public transport is to stand a chance against the growing number of private cars.
 The efforts to renovate a specific tramline are making good progress. A study as part of the project makes suggestions on route selection and on improvements in the connection of residential
areas to the "No. 7". The suggestions have been adopted by the City Council. Currently more
detailed studies and preparations for a feasibility study are being carried out. An employee of a
German public transport company is supporting his colleagues in Wroclaw in designing a costbenefit-analysis for this new line. Such an analysis is not common practice in Wroclaw yet. But
in the process of planning investments and renovation works it is helpful to look at both costs
and benefits and then decide about the project.
 A project working group of ZDiK, MPK and PKE has developed a new network of routes
which is now being discussed with the responsible politicians and decision makers. In addition
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a new system of fares will be designed in order to make the transport system in Wroclaw more
efficient and more appealing to the customer. The concept is currently being discussed with
representatives of the different city-districts and the city council.
 With regard to funding the "Tramline 7" we have established contacts to the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development, to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as well as to the European Investment Bank, to the PHARE programme and to the new
ISPA programme of the EU. Generally it can be said that the project has contributed to generating interest in local public transport in the financing institutions but only the EBRD has granted
a public transport loan to Wroclaw so far. With regard to the EU the successes are as yet not
forthcoming. While the EU recognises that funding will have to be provided for local public
transport none has been provided to date. Further persuasion appears to be necessary.
 The issue of "Public Transport Service Conglomerates" is a rather new issue for many Polish
towns. In Wroclaw the relationship between the Polish State Railway (Lower Silesian section)
and the town, i.e. its transport service operations is suffering from 'old' tensions. However, we
have been able to demonstrate the advantages of a public transport service conglomerate and
meanwhile some of those responsible support our ideas. Furthermore, as a result of a number of
changes in personnel the possible integration between the local passenger railway transport and
local public transport (Karlsruhe model or rail buses) has been given serious consideration since
late 1998.
In 1999 we have organised two trips of Polish transport experts to Karlsruhe, to demonstrate the
local integration of heavy and light rail in local and regional public transport. The Karlsruhe solution has impressed the guests especially because they see the chance to transfer it to Poland
and thus prevent lines of the Polish Railway to be closed down (in 2000 about 1/3 of the railway network is planned to be closed down). Being realistic, however, it has to be said that it is
still a long way to go towards the actual establishment of full regional co-operation in public
transport.
 Along with a number of representatives of the town's transport service operations and the Polish
Association of Transport Engineers a bill has been developed which regulates the essential features of the financing of the system as well as the responsibilities of the Central Government
with regard to local public transport. The draft bill is currently under discussion with the minis-
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tries and the parliamentary and municipal representatives. It is receiving great attention in the
various parliamentary committees as well as in the Ministries of Transport, Environment and
Finance.
Some changes in personnel in the Ministry of Transport have improved the standing of public
transport and facilitated the project team’s contacts into the Ministry. The result is that legislative changes which are under preparation in the Ministry right now include many demands of
our draft law.
At the end of this year (2000) the central government for the first time will provide money for
the support of public transport. It will be given to the wojwodships or poviats where public
transport companies can apply for support.
4. Next Steps
The legal initiative as well as the renovation of "Tramline No. 7" are being strongly pursued.
Without a legal basis for local public transport the Polish towns and cities will, in the long term,
not be in a position to maintain the bus and rail services at a level which is attractive to customers.
"Tramline No. 7" is of equal importance as it is to demonstrate to the passengers that local public
transport can indeed be punctual, speedy and comfortable.
Other foci for our activities until the end of the year 2000 are
 developing an financing strategy for the purchase of the eight new trams in Wroclaw,
 implementation of a public transport user advisory council,
 design of a web-page for our project,
 lobbying at EU level,
 integration of transport planners and universities into the project,
 expert exchanges on individual issues as well as on issues chosen by our Polish colleagues,
 big final conference at the end of the project (November 2000).
Author: Katrin Seifert, Position as of: June 2000, First published: July 1998
An information from the European Nature Heritage Fund (EURONATUR)
Grabenstr. 23, D-53359 Rheinbach.
Tel: ++49-2226-2045, Fax: ++49-2226-17100.
e-mail: seifert.euronatur@t-online.de
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Responsible editor: Katrin Seifert
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