From Monday, September 21, the frequency of tram lines in Krakow has changed. “The changes will consist in increasing the frequency of tram lines on weekdays from the current 10 and 20 minutes to 7.5 and 15 minutes” – inform city officials.
Trams number: 1, 3, 8, 18, 20, 50, 52 will run every 7.5 minutes throughout the day
Every 15 minutes throughout the day: 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22, 24
Every 15 minutes during rush hours only: 17, 44, 49
On days off, most tram lines will run every 20 minutes. Line 50, as at present, will run at selected times with an increased frequency up to 10 minutes.
Additionally, on Saturdays, at selected times, also line No. 52 will run with a frequency increased to 10 minutes.
Short notice #KrakowNews from The Twisted Red LadyBug 🙂
In September 2017, Massive Dynamic AG Polska (a branch of Massive Dynamic AG based in Switzerland) submitted a proposal to build an underground metro network for Krakow and the Krakow agglomeration for about 45 billion PLN on the basis of a public-private partnership. Its representatives resent the president of Krakow and his subordinate officials that for three years their actions have only discouraged the investor from actions that would largely solve transport problems in the capital of Małopolska and neighboring municipalities.
What would the project mean?
The undertaking would consist in the fact that Massive Dynamic AG will design, build and finance the metro network, then use it and earn money on it until the return on investment (analyzes have shown a return on the investment after 22 years), and then it will hand over the property to the city.
The concept proposed by Massive Dynamic AG assumed the construction of 5 metro lines with a total length of over 170 km (139 stations and 19 park & ride parking lots with a total capacity of about 6,100 parking spaces). It would be a subway network that would connect Krakow with the adjacent municipalities. 4 lines would run radially with a common point at the Main Railway Station, and 1 line would be a circumferential line.
The Numbers
It was noted that, according to preliminary arrangements with the provincial conservation authorities, the metro could run at a depth of at least 20 meters. The first 2 lines would be built within 3 years. The following ticket prices were adopted: tourists staying up to 3 days: 72-hour ticket – 54 PLN; tourists staying over 3 days: 7-day ticket – 74 PLN; students from outside the commune: monthly ticket – 82 PLN; students living in Krakow: monthly ticket – 65 PLN; people commuting to work from outside the commune: monthly ticket – 129 PLN; Krakow residents: monthly ticket – 92 PLN.
What happened?
The case was transferred to the Municipal Economy Department of the Krakow City Hall. “There, after the initial meeting, I was informed about the need to be patient. From the beginning of December 2017 to the end of March 2018, I was disposed of for all kinds of contacts with the Municipal Economy Department because of the lack of time for meetings regarding the metro” – admits Marcin Boroń, president of Massive Dynamic AG Polska.
In connection with the situation, in June 2018, Massive Dynamic AG submitted a petition to the Krakow City Council, in which it renewed its proposal to build the metro. As a result, there was finally a meeting with the management of the Municipal Economy Department, where president Marcin Boroń presented the concept of the metro to officials. He declared that the company had adequate financial resources and was in talks with companies involved in tunneling (Herrenknecht), rolling stock production (Siemens), and train traffic control systems.
Officials pointed out that a Study for Collision-Free Transport in Krakow is being developed, its effect may be the construction of the 1st metro line, therefore any works related to the construction of the metro line would have to be carried out in parallel and completely independent of the route of the metro in the eastern corridor analyzed in the Study West. Officials also pointed out that 3 metro lines were planned in the Krakow Development Study. The concept would, therefore, have to be adapted to this document or changed. The representatives of the city hall also expected more specific analyzes and documents confirming the investor’s financial capacity.
In October 2018, Massive Dynamic AG submitted to the office the preliminary analysis of the investment, and two months later it sent documents confirming the financial capacity. In order to read the documents sent, including agreements with foreign partners, the investor expected the city to sign a confidentiality agreement. The contract template was sent to the office at the end of 2018.
“After sending these documents, the Municipal Economy Department began to act very slowly. After many phone calls and messages sent by e-mail, a meeting with the vice-president of Krakow, Andrzej Kulig, was finally arranged on February 12, 2019, i.e. after more than 16 months from the moment our company submitted the proposal to build the metro“ – emphasizes President Marcin Boroń. “At the meeting attended by other representatives of the office, the scope of the project was initially discussed and it was agreed that a confidentiality agreement would be prepared. Later, the office again acted very sluggishly, in my opinion, so as to discourage us from further action in this matter”.
2019 & The Mayor of Krakow
In April 2019, Massive Dynamic filed a complaint against the work of the vice-president of Krakow, Andrzej Kulig, and the Municipal Economy Department. The Mayor of Krakow, Jacek Majchrowski, found it unfounded. In response, he recalled that the proposed solutions for the metro were not in line with the spatial development study for Kraków. The president also emphasized that although the president of Massive Dynamic Polska had sent documents confirming financial credibility, officials could not read their content, because they were secured with a password along with the information that they could be read after signing a confidentiality agreement.
The president also asked attention that the proposed routes of the metro lines should be verified by professional analyzes and forecasts of traffic, as well as the locations of transfer stations/nodes so that they do not conflict with the existing development. The president also noted that the city could not afford to cooperate with one entity selected without respecting the provisions related to public procurement.
Lack of interest…
“If it were an investment under a public-private partnership, the city could have prepared a tender and started a technical dialogue with our company” – says President Marcin Boroń. “We presented the general concept of the metro lines, which could be detailed at subsequent stages of the works to meet the city’s requirements. However, about PLN 20 million would be needed to conduct detailed analyzes. We could not afford such an expense without any agreements, especially non-disclosure agreements. It is difficult to imagine that without it, we would disclose all the financial secrets of our company to the office” – he adds.
Massive Dynamic AG also submitted complaints to the Krakow City Council and tried to present its vision to the councilors at the RMK session. “Until today, however, we have not obtained consent for it” – says President Marcin Boroń.
On the other hand, the chairman of the Krakow City Council, Dominik Jaśkowiec (PO councilor), informed Gazeta Krakowsa that he would look at the matter. “We have not recently invited guests to the meetings of the Krakow City Council due to the coronavirus pandemic. If epidemiological conditions make it possible, a presentation of the subway project could be organized in September” – explains Dominik Jaśkowiec.
Krakow voted in favor of having a metro line!
In May 2014, the inhabitants of Kraków voted in favor of building the metro in a referendum. In September 2018, the city signed an agreement with ILF Consulting Engineers Polska to develop a study for collision-free transport, including metro, for 9.4 million. The contract includes a deadline for the completion of the works by the end of 2019. Just before that date, the Krakow authorities informed that the document would not be prepared on time, as the proposals for the location of underground stops for the metro (planned on the Nowa Huta – city center – Bronowice route) were negatively assessed by the conservation authorities.
Initially, the Małopolska Voivodship Conservator of Monuments Monika Bogdanowska agreed only to the metro stop at the Nowaka-Jeziorański Square, so in the vicinity of the Main Railway Station. There was no consent for stops at the Mogilskie roundabout, the intersection of Dunajewskiego, Karmelicka and Podwale streets, and the square between Karmelicka and Dolnych Młynów streets, where there is now an above-ground parking lot and a municipal park is to be built. The contractors of the study proposed new solutions for the stops and the conservation authorities approved two of them: in the area of the Mogilskie roundabout and ul. Karmelicka, but with conditions. In the case of the Mogilskie roundabout, the recommendation was that the stop should not collide with the remains of the former fortification buildings.
Half a year ago, it seemed that both parties would be able to complete all the details efficiently and by the end of June this year, the authors of the study would be able to complete the necessary work. However, there are further delays and so far the Study has not been presented…
For more details on how the proposed 5 metro lines would look like, please do check the Gazeta Krakowska article and photos.
Yours truly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug bringing you the Krakow News
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.
The 20-minute ticket, which now costs 3.40 PLN, will be converted into a 10-minute ticket for 3 PLN. A 50-minute ticket for 4.60 PLN will be replaced by an hourly ticket for 6 PLN. However, a monthly ticket for all lines on the Krakow Card, which has so far cost PLN 69, will cost PLN 96. Gazeta Krakowska was the first to write about the fact that officials will consider increasing the ticket prices in June. Now they know the details.
Info taken from Gazeta Krakowska (Polish Site for News in Krakow)
There is no topic today.
This is a city council topic, and they also need data. I don’t think anyone would want to talk about the new fare today. It is known that tax revenues dropped in April and May, but we must see what June frostbite will look like.
Łukasz Franek, director of the Public Transport Board, told Gazeta Krakowska firmly in June when they asked about increases.
Officials are thinking about increasing the ticket prices
From Gazeta Krakowska’s unofficial information from several sources, it appears that officials were considering the issue of increasing ticket prices. These would cover season tickets. The idea of eliminating tickets for one line or even two comes back. Single tickets would also increase in price or stay at current prices, but with less time. Gazeta Krakowska now has confirmation of this.
New Ticket prices – see below
The single ticket for 6 PLN (now 4.6 PLN)
10-minute ticket for 3 PLN (now 20-minute ticket for 3.6 PLN)
90-minute ticket for 8 PLN (now 6 PLN)
There will be no more monthly tickets for 1 or 2 lines!
Current monthly ticket for all lines (with Krakow Card) in Strefa I = 69 PLN. It will cost 96 PLN (Strefa I) and 110 PLN (Strefa I and II).
This is a preliminary proposal, for now, nothing binding. Councilors will make the final decision, they will be able to agree on different variants or not. We do not impose any variants
Sebastian Kowal from the Public Transport Board, who prepared a preliminary draft of increases
New ticket proposals – see below
A new feature that may appear is the possibility of buying a half-year ticket for all lines on the Krakow Card (i.e. for people paying taxes in Krakow) for 480 or 550 PLN (Strefa I and II).
Zone III is also to be a novelty – these are the farthest regions outside the city, where now public transport is coming from Krakow. A monthly ticket for the 1st zone, excluding KK, will cost 128 PLN, for the 2nd zone – 96 PLN, for the third – 69 PLN. On the other hand, a ticket without Karta Krakowska for Strefa I and II will cost 146 PLN (the same for zones II and III), and for all zones 166 PLN.
Additionally, the tariff will include a monthly social ticket for 30, 50, and 70 PLN (for zones I, I and II, I, II, and III) and an activation ticket for the unemployed for 50 and 100 PLN (zones I and II and II).
Why will the prices increase?
Officials explain that increases are necessary because of the coronavirus epidemic that plowed urban transport systems.April data shows the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the ticket sales – only 4.12 million PLN, compared to 23.76 million PLN in April 2019. It was a bit better in May – 8.89 million PLN (over PLN 16 million less than in May last year).
Now data from June is available. At the end of the second quarter, monthly revenues from ticket sales (this applies to both one-time and network tickets purchased this month) in Kraków amounted to 13.2 million PLN. It is over 4 million PLN more than in May, but it is still very little. In June last year, this amount was 22.7 million 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 % of the amount before the pandemic and we will lose 100 – 140 million PLN by the end of the year.
Łukasz Franek, the director of the Public Transport Board
Already in this year’s city budget, a public deficit of PLN 300 million was planned for public transport. If the above assumptions are met, then at the end of the year the budget hole in public transport will start to reach half a billion zlotys.
Current prices in other Polish cities
A resident ticket for all lines would increase in price from 69 to 96 PLN (for Strefa I), by almost 40 %. The people of Krakow are under shock and already started to protest the incoming changes. How are they to blame for the Global Pandemic?! Why should the prices rise and were there any changes brought by MPK to the Public Transport of Krakow? Of course there are a couple of new trams and investments are being made, but does that reflect the huge changes in the prices of the tickets!?
In Poznań, for a monthly ticket for all lines within the city limits you have to pay about 150 PLN, in Wroclaw 90 PLN, in Gdańsk 99 PLN, in Łódź 96 PLN. In Warsaw, as in Krakow, residents can count on a discount – they pay 98 PLN for a ticket for the near and distant zone, while the standard ticket price for zone 1 is PLN 110.
What do you think of these incoming changes? Would love to hear your thoughts on this!
Yours truly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug, Bringing You The Latest Krakow News
District I Council – Old Town passed a resolution with a request to introduce an electronic passenger counting system in public transport vehicles. Councilors argue that such a solution would be very helpful during the coronavirus pandemic.
The new Lajkonik trams already have an electronic passenger counting system. Hence the idea to use it in other public transport vehicles in Krakow. This would help in these times of pandemic, where there are restrictions on the number of people who can ride trams and buses. One could display how many seats are available in vehicles
Jacek Balcewicz, the councilor from the District I Council – Old Town, initiator of the resolution in which councilors from the first District requested the Public Transport Board (Zarządu Transportu Publicznego) to implement an electronic passenger counting system in public transport.
How could this help?
“Such a system in trams and buses would also help a lot in creating timetables. Based on the data, it could be determined what number of vehicles is needed on given routes to meet passengers’ expectations” – adds Councillor Balcewicz. In his opinion, it is better to spend money once to install an electronic passenger counting system than to commission such tests every time.
“It should be borne in mind that manual counting of passengers by employees may be affected by an error. It is not always easy to accurately count the number of people getting on and off eg a tram when there are many passengers. For this, you still need to employ people controlling whether people to count passengers do it in accordance with the contract. Later, such results go to analysis, everything lasts a long time, and having data from electronic counting you can react faster” – emphasizes Councillor Balcewicz.
How could it help in the case of a pandemic?
In the justification of the resolution, the councilors from District I emphasized that the lack of a passenger counting system was apparent during the restrictions imposed by the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. “It happened that the police intervened by ordering the number of passengers to leave the tram. In turn, passengers getting into the vehicle were not aware of exceeding the allowed limit, because no one informed them about it, and the individual counting of passengers inside during a short stop at the bus stop was practically impossible” – stressed councilors from District I.
How could it help the Municipal Transport Company – MPK?
“An efficient passenger counting system will also contribute to the rational management of rolling stock and substitution of vehicles with the capacity expected by passengers, and thus the rationalisation of the costs of public transport, which is a priority in the current budget situation.”
What do officials say?
At ZTP, we were told that they would “work out a position in this matter”.
In the Municipal Transport Company, which buys new trams and buses, they admit that some of these vehicles are already equipped with an electronic passenger counting system. Technically, this means that sensors are installed in the door that records how many people get in and out of the vehicle at a given stop.
“More than 120 buses are equipped with this type of system. As for trams, such a system is in new Lajkonik vehicles and one NGT6 tram” – informs Marek Gancarczyk, spokesman for MPK Kraków.
As for the new Lajkonik trams, 50 such vehicles are expected to reach Kraków – 35 this year and 15 in the first quarter of 2021. Six copies of Lajkonik have arrived so far (the seventh is on the way), and four are already driving on Krakow’s tracks.
What do YOU think of this measure? I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings on this topic. Please do reach out on my Facebook Page or just post a comment in the section below 🙂 Sharing is caring!
Yours always sincerly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug That Likes Public Transport in Krakow
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