Suchergebnisse

Liberalisation of railway market can be an important instrument for increasing the attractiveness of local rail services and consequently for making the railways more competitive with other means of transport, which could result in changing the modal share in the favour of railways. The differences in the railway liberalisation level as well as in the policies towards rail transport between Central and Eastern European countries are vast, hence the present situation and the future prospects of regional services are diverse. Whereas there is only one railway line in Slovakia which is not operated by the state railway company ZSSK, a few private local connections which complement a very dense network of ČD state railways are in service in the Czech Republic. Poland, by contrast, is a country where liberalisation of railway market is most advanced as several different companies are responsible for transport in the regions. However, the results of this large scale liberalisation are ambiguous as the positive effects (reopening of some lines) are balanced by isolation of the new regional government-owned systems from each other. In Austria, by contrast, the existence of several private and regional government-owned local railways which are an indispensable part of the regional transport networks has contributed to maintain an effective transport system. Although the effects of liberalisation on the local railway networks can often be ambiguous, several cases from the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland show that privatisation and municipalisation may have a positive effect on the railway service as it has enabled to maintain the service on many sections which were at risk of closure. However, the most important condition of the effective transport development seems to be an active cooperation between the railway operators and the local governments as an expression of appropriate transport policy.

Air travel has increased rapidly in Central Europe in the first decade of the 21st century thanks to the admission of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to the European Union and the liberalization of their air travel market. Rapid increase in the number of air travelers in Central Europe created new challenges for Central European airports, which had to expand, modernize and better connect to urban cores. The best solution of the last problem is to organize rail transport, which can handle considerable high passenger volumes, avoids traffic jams, and exerts a relatively small impact on the natural environment. The creation of rail transportation systems increases the airports competitiveness of making cities and whole geographical regions more accessible in general. Another benefit of this transport is that the construction of airportrail links includes metropolitan areas which had no efficient transport systems.

The aim of the paper is to identify the main factors and mechanisms behind the development of low-emission public transport vehicles in Polish cities. This innovation is primarily connected with growing environmental requirements for transport, with the EU environmental and transport policies being the key factors. However, strategies of local governments and municipal transport companies as well as the organization of urban transport - which differs significantly between cities - also play an important role. Three basic types of approach towards low-emission buses can be observed in Polish cities: tests of electric and hybrid vehicles, purchases of small quantities of buses in order to implement new solutions, and finally attempts to replace the majority or even the entire transport fleet with low-emission vehicles. It should be emphasised that an important element which affects the development of low emission public urban transport in Poland is the fact that the country has become one of the main bus producers in Europe - a fact which is a result of both large-scale foreign investments and the success of Polish manufacturers.

The aim of the paper is to identify the main factors and mechanisms behind the development of low-emission public transport vehicles in Polish cities. This innovation is primarily connected with growing environmental requirements for transport, with the EU environmental and transport policies being the key factors. However, strategies of local governments and municipal transport companies as well as the organization of urban transport - which differs significantly between cities - also play an important role. Three basic types of approach towards low-emission buses can be observed in Polish cities: tests of electric and hybrid vehicles, purchases of small quantities of buses in order to implement new solutions, and finally attempts to replace the majority or even the entire transport fleet with low-emission vehicles. It should be emphasised that an important element which affects the development of low emission public urban transport in Poland is the fact that the country has become one of the main bus producers in Europe - a fact which is a result of both large-scale foreign investments and the success of Polish manufacturers.