“The future of transport will be friendly and close to the residents,” says Prof. Dr. Eng. Andrzej Szarata, Rector of the Cracow University of Technology. He points out that so-called new mobility, i.e., transport services that enable movement using shared vehicles – cars, scooters, bicycles, scooters – are an important complement to traditional public transport and are a modern, dynamically developing form of meeting the needs of city residents in terms of movement. “Changes to urban transport systems also require a change in our internal beliefs and habits,” notes the transport expert.
“We must use all possible means of transport in order to improve movement in cities. We are not able to eliminate this movement, each of us has transport needs. However, it is very important that these stages of the journey that must be carried out in the city are optimized from the user’s perspective and the entire transport system,” says Prof. Andrzej Szarata to the Newseria Biznes agency.
At present, the most popular and most frequently chosen means of transport in cities is still the private car, which – in the context of the growing number of residents in urban agglomerations – causes a number of problems related to traffic jams, smog, noise, or lack of parking spaces. According to data from the Central Vehicle and Driver Registration Office (CEPiK) in Poland, there are about 30 million vehicles registered, of which over 20 million are passenger cars. In turn, according to Eurostat data, Poland ranks sixth among European Union members in terms of the number of vehicles registered per 1,000 residents, outpacing automotive powers such as Germany, the United Kingdom, or France, leaving the EU average far behind (report “Transport behaviors of residents of Polish cities”). For example, in Warsaw alone, there are over 1.5 million cars registered, which gives an average of 661 passenger cars for every 1,000 residents. Thus, Warsaw clearly surpasses other European capitals in this respect.
“To find something that is competitive with the car, a comprehensive look at transport is needed, using all possible means of transport and combining them to highlight the advantages of each,” says the Rector of the Cracow University of Technology. “We start, of course, with pedestrians because the development of pedestrian, bicycle, or scooter infrastructure is very cheap, considering investment costs, and at the same time very effective for short trips. We are talking here about the so-called last-mile effect. It must be remembered that not everyone in the city can use a bus, tram, or metro because not everyone has a stop under their house. This electric scooter or bicycle is a means that can strengthen the use of public transport, feed bus lines, trams, or suburban railways.”
According to the latest edition of the “New Mobility Barometer” PSPA, Poles – when giving up owning a private car – would first like to be able to use city bike rentals (24%). It is the cheapest, often free form of transport, which at the same time allows for quick movement over short distances. The following places were taken by: on-demand mobility services such as Uber and Bolt (24%), taxis (20%), carsharing (13%), and urban rental systems for scooters (12%) or scooters (9%).
Research by the PSPA also shows that an important factor that can encourage giving up a private car is the cost of monthly, integrated transport. As many as 53% of Poles believe that it should not exceed 200 PLN. For example, the current price of a monthly ZTM ticket in Warsaw is 110 PLN (zone 1) or 180 PLN (zone 1+2).
“The role of cities and local governments is to shape the transport system so that a car is not needed. However, one should not demonize the car, it is not evil itself and enemy number one, in many cases it is the only means that allows moving from point A to point B,” says Prof. Dr. Eng. Andrzej Szarata. “There are situations where we need a car, but we don’t have to own it to use it because the alternative can be shared cars in a carsharing system. On the other hand, we also have suburban areas where public transport will never be competitive, and there a car must be available. Therefore, an attempt to create a future transport system will be an attempt to find a healthy balance between what we can do in the city and what residents expect.”
