Bus Stock Restoration, Poland
Good Practice UN-Habitat 2002

Public Transport: Economic and Efficient

Zdunska Wola, a city of 46,000 inhabitants, is one of the few municipalities in Poland which dared to invest in restoring the old municipality-owned bus system. And – lo and behold! – the success was theirs, financial and all. The overall concept provided for drastically improved schedules and comfortable new buses (equipped with heating, facilities for people with disabilities, more seating) which all added to a marked increase in the number of passengers. At the same time fuel consumption and servicing costs were reduced as the fleet’s own staff was trained by the manufacturer to carry out servicing tasks. This meant that despite rationalisation no jobs were lost.

Situation

The Polish municipality of Zdunska Wola was in dire straits financially in the early 1990ies. The old bus system which also serviced the neighbouring region was on the verge of breakdown and more and more people switched to private passenger transportation. Employees at the local bus company were about to lose their job. The municipality had to take drastic action to try and save the company. One idea was to have the old buses repaired, reduce the schedules and otherwise stick to the old system. The other idea was a highly risky one: to build up a new fleet, retrain staff and redesign schedules.

Process

Many of the company’s employees would rather have seen the first version in place for fear of losing their job. They were quite sceptical of the second version to begin with. Yet that decision was also taken on the grounds that the manufacturers of the new bosses agreed to train staff not only to drive but to service the new vehicles. A cost-benefit analysis was conducted to calculate potential success based on which a major budget was allocated to the project. In 1999 two new buses began operation.

Results

Lower Diesel consumption and service costs, amongst others, were responsible for the savings side, on the benefits side there were improved comfort and safety, increased passenger numbers, reduced private passenger transportation, more convenient intervals and ultimately preservation of jobs too. Employees assumed a new responsible task in servicing the vehicles entrusted to them. Lower exhaust gas emissions and noise protection also proved to the benefit of the local population. Now the company looks for investors to purchase busses suitable for use by handicapped people too.


Transferability

The plan paid off – the local population and employees at the bus company accepted the new buses. By early 2002 half of the old buses had been replaced. The operators are much better off financially and have been able to pay back most of their debts. Despite the higher number of vehicles and shorter intervals, operating costs are dropping continuously. Other municipalities in Poland watched with great interest as Zdunska Wola decided to invest in a radical renewal of public transport.