Sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, and stops will be decontaminated
This is the aftermath of the introduction of the yellow zone of the coronavirus epidemic in Krakow. Decontamination of public areas with high pedestrian traffic throughout the city is expected to prevent the spread of Sars-Cov-2.
Back to square one…
Public transport stops, sidewalks, bus loops, larger interchange points, underground passages and footbridges, containers for selective waste collection, pharmacy surroundings with entrances, street litter bins – in these places, MPO Krakow started cleaning the city space from Monday, August 30 with the help of disinfectant. Street baskets, handrails of various types and benches are also disinfected.
Fighting the good fight!
The effectiveness of the decontamination of the city in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus is confirmed by scientists from the Małopolska Center of Biotechnology of the Jagiellonian University. They have conducted, in March, an analysis of urban space contamination with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The test samples were taken from ATMs and ticket machines located at bus stops. Locations tested: All Saints, Mogilskie roundabout, Bagatela Theater, Nowy Kleparz, Mały Płaszów loop, or shopping malls.
It turned out then that over 40 % of the samples contained the genetic material of the virus. “The highest percentage of positive results was observed on the first day of the project. The material was collected and accumulated on the surfaces for several days” – says Paweł Łabaj, co-author of the study.
MPK also disinfects the public transport vehicles!
The disinfection and ozonation of buses and trams of the City Transport in Krakow is also carried out without changes. Virologists also remind you to disinfect your own hands and avoid touching your face.
The first session of the Krakow City Council after the summer break will take place this week. There are many indications that councilors will not yet deal with the issue of increasing the price of tickets for public transport. Officials want to give themselves and the councilors more time to talk about the final shape of the increases, before the latter deal with the project. This one has still not appeared among the draft resolutions awaiting adoption.
Officials plan to increase the public transport ticket prices
I was telling you already that the officials were getting ready to increase the prices of tickets for public transport. In July, it was officially known what changes were planned by officials. As they explained, the increases are necessary, because the Coronavirus pandemic had a negative impact on the city’s transport budget and if we want to maintain the pre-pandemic network and frequency of connections in the autumn, the increases are necessary.
It seemed that the councilors would deal with the raises at the first session after the holidays, which is on the last Wednesday of August (Yup! Tomorrow!). But they won’t! “In order for the print to go to the session, the president must submit it at least one week before the session, i.e. by 17th August. It has not happened so far and I doubt it will change” – Dominik Jaśkowiec, chairman of the City Council tells us. The draft resolution is still not in the Public Information Bulletin.
Confirmation from The Mayor
His words are confirmed by a spokeswoman for Jacek Majchrowski. “The ticket resolution will not be available until one of the September sessions. We want to propose a project that has a chance to be adopted and will be a compromise” – says Monika Chylaszek. The officials will, therefore, work with the councilors on the project for some time to come.
What are the current propositions?
a one-way ticket for 6 PLN (now 4.6),
a 10-minute ticket for 3 PLN (now a 20-minute ticket for 3.6)
a 90-mint ticket for 8 PLN (now 6). The entire ticket tariff is to be changed. There will be no more monthly tickets for one or two lines. The current monthly ticket for all lines on the Krakow Card, instead of 69, is to cost 96 PLN (zone I) and 110 PLN (zone I and II).
New transport tickets may appear
A novelty will be the possibility to buy a 6-month ticket for all lines for the Krakow Card (i.e. for people paying taxes in Krakow) for 480 or 550 PLN (zones I and II).
Zone III is also to be a novelty – these are the farthest areas outside the city, where public transport from Krakow now commutes. However, we still do not know the border of the third zone. A monthly ticket for zone I, without Krakow Card, is to cost 128 PLN for the zone I, 96 PLN for zone II, and 69 PLN for zone III. In turn, a ticket without Krakow Card for zones I and II will cost 146 PLN(the same for zones II and III), and 166 PLN for all zones.
In addition, the tariff will include a monthly social ticket for 30, 50, and 70 PLN (zone I, I and II, zone I, II, and III) and an activation ticket for the unemployed for 50 and 100 PLN (zone I, I and II).
Coronavirus affecting public transport/price of tickets
According to officials, the increases are necessary due to the coronavirus epidemic, which plowed through the city’s transport systems. How much Krakow’s public transport has suffered can be seen from the April data on the inflow of ticket sales – only 4.12 million PLN, compared to 23.76 million PLNin April 2019. It was a little better in May – 8.89 million PLN. But that was over 16 million PLNless than in May a year ago. In June, the proceeds amounted to 13.2 million PLN. A year ago, it was 22.7 millionPLN.
During the epidemic, the daily revenues from ticket sales decreased from approx. 1.5-2.5 million PLN to several dozen thousand zlotys or a maximum of 200-400 thousand PLN.
“We estimate that by the end of the year, the revenues from tickets will be at the level we forecast, i.e. in autumn they will reach 70%. what before the pandemic, we will lose PLN 100 to 140 million by the end of the year” – Łukasz Franek, director of the Public Transport Board told Gazeta Krakowska some time ago.
Already in this year’s city budget for public transport, a deficit of PLN 300 million was planned. If the above assumptions are met, at the end of the year the budget gap in public transport will start to reach half a billion zlotys.
Original article (in Polish language) from Gazeta Krakowska can be found here.
In Krakow, there are mobility points where it will be possible to rent and put away electric scooters. However, there are still no national regulations that are supposed to sort out the issue of riding e-scooters.
Info taken from Gazeta Krakowska (Online News Page in Polish Language)
Currently there are no e-scooter regulations in Krakow
There are still no nationwide regulations on using electric scooters. Therefore, among others there are dangerous situations with their usage in the public places. E-scooter riders can now drive at any speed, and sometimes pedestrians are hit. The issues that the inhabitants of Krakow point out, among others, is the fact that in Krakow people leave the scooters anywhere: on sidewalks, in rubbish bins, etc. You can even trip over them and get badly injured!
That is why the officials of the City of Krakow have decided not to wait for nationwide regulations, but rather take the matter into their own hands!
New regulations for e-scooters in Krakow will come soon!
There are several companies in Krakow that rent scooters. We have consulted with them on the provisions that are to make the capital of Małopolska safer.
Sebastian Kowal from the Public Transport Authority
What would the new regulation entail?
Speed Limit
The new regulation includes limiting the speed at which it will be possible to travel in places with heavy pedestrian traffic.“This includes Planty, where you will be able to drive at a maximum speed of 15 km/hour. Most scooters have special devices installed, thanks to which – if someone exceeds speed in such a place – the vehicle will automatically slow down” – emphasizes Kowal.
Mobility Points
In addition, there are so-called mobility points – “there will be over 150 in total, and maybe more. Locations mostly duplicate those where Wavelo bicycle stations used to function (no longer available in Krakow). They have already been designated in Śródmieście, but they will be in every district. It will be possible not only to rent but also to leave an electric scooter” emphasizes Kowal. Thanks to this, scooters should disappear from sidewalks, rubbish bins, lawns, etc.
Special Application for the e-scooters in Krakow
The user of an e-scooter must have a special application downloaded to use it. This is where we find a map that will show where the nearest point of mobility is. “We hope that if we set the mobility points, the problem with the clutter in the road lane due to scooters will be eliminated” – officials are acknowledging.
Still waiting on nationwide regulations
We still have to wait for nationwide regulations.
“Due to the increasing popularity of personal transport devices (such as scooters) in road traffic, the Ministry of Infrastructure is working on legislative work to define road traffic rules for these devices”
Ministry of Infrastructure
The draft regulations assume that the scooter will be rideable at a maximum speed of 25 km/hour. Scooters are to be treated as bicycles.
Have you ever took a ride on a e-scooter in Krakow, or anywhere else in Poland? Have you also noticed them lying anywhere the rider stopped? I also find it rather infuriating… I wonder of the developments fo this new way of public transport…
Yours truly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug, Bringing You The Latest Krakow News
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