In recent years fare-free public transport (FFPT) found itself at the centre of attention of various groups, such as economists, transport engineers and local authorities, as well as those responsible for the organisation of urban transport. The FFPT is hoped to be the answer to contemporary transport-related problems within cities, problems which largely result from insensible proportions between trips carried out via personal mode of transportation and those completed by the means of public transport. This article reviews the motives and effects connected with the introduction to date of fare-free transport zones across the globe. It also presents, using data obtained in market research, the actual impact of a selective extension of the entitlement to free fares on the demand for urban transport services. The effects observed in other urban transport systems were then compared against those observed in relation to one, examined system. Analyses of observed FFPT implementation effects were then used to establish good and bad practices in the introduction of FFPT. The article also contains forecasts on the effect of the extension of entitlement to free fares and an increase in the public transport offer may have on the volume of demand for such services. The analyses have shown that an increase in the public transport offer (understood as an increase in the volume of vehicle-kilometres) would increase the demand for urban transport services more than the selective implementation of FFPT (assuming that the costs incurred by the local authorities remain unchanged).

The New Urban Agenda (NUA) sets a new vision of sustainable urban development to help cities deal with the challenges of changing demography. While numerous articles have addressed how the NUA can be implemented at different levels and in different areas, this article points out the potential limitations in incorporating the NUA into metropolitan transport policies. The relevance of the limitations can be seen in three main fields: incompatibility between legal and financial frameworks and the functional and spatial structures of metropolitan areas, the characteristics of how transport systems are developed as part of metropolitan functional and spatial structures and the inconsistency and inadequacy between political declarations (NUA) which are based on ideas and programmes and the objectives of strategy papers which are based on diagnoses, data analyses and predictive models. The authors put forward the thesis that by concentrating on cities, the NUA leaves out some of the characteristics of metropolitan areas. As a consequence, although the NUA can work successfully for metropolitan cores, outer areas are not covered directly. In order to verify the thesis, a comparison was made between the NUA’s transport system approach with experience from running and planning metropolitan transport systems described in the literature. The results of the comparative analysis, confirmed the thesis of the authors and made it possible to formulate general conclusions regarding the specific conditions of metropolitan areas for the running and developing of the transport system. By using explanatory case study of Tri-City Metropolitan Area (TMA) and the Strategy for Transport and Mobility for TMA 2030 general assumptions were confirmed and explain in more details. The NUA and STM were compared for how they address the main areas of intervention related to transport. Differences were identified and recommendations were formulated, should the documents be updated. The STM must be updated in areas such as equity and climate change mitigations while the NUA should be expanded to cover the specific conditions that prevail in functional and metropolitan areas.

W ostatnich trzech dekadach miejski transport zbiorowy stał się najważniejszym obszarem działalności komunalnej. Usługi tego transportu determinują jakość życia w miastach

This paper aims to assess changes in mobility and modal shift caused by COVID-19 travel restrictions among the residents of Gdańsk Bay Metropolis (Poland). Measurement’s moments were assumed in periods differing in the level of restrictions. The computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) was carried out in November and December 2020. The results did not confirm the expected modal shift. However, significant changes in the number of trips between periods were observed. Restrictions in the first period of the pandemic resulted in a greater decrease in mobility than the restrictions at the end of the year. Moreover, significant associations were found between transport behaviour and place of residence. Nevertheless, possible negative changes in the modal split after the pandemic ends should be counteracted by improving the quality of public transport services. As the most important attributes of public transport attracting passengers after the pandemic respondents recognized: high frequency of vehicles, low cost of travel, not overcrowded vehicles. However, some residents declared they will not use public transport regardless of service improvements. Consequently, to meet the objectives of sustainable mobility policy, it can be necessary to increase the share in the modal split of other sustainable modes of travel.

Purpose: The research objective of the study is to determine the conditions, threats and challenges of passenger transport integration in the regions using the example of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted based on the assumptions of the concept of passenger transport integration in the Pomeranian Voivodeship (Poland). In the article were used qualitative research methods from the field of social sciences. It is based on scientific and practical own author’s studies, in particular in the scope of economics and management. Findings: The article shows that the scope and method of integrating passenger transport in the region must be determined by precisely formulated objectives; integrated passenger transport in the region must provide a transport offer competitive with other means of transport in the region, decision-makers should abandon the current political management of the offer of this transport services. Research limitations/implications: The limitations result from the assumptions of the analysed document, which may change during work on the integration of public transport. Practical implications: The article indicates the conditions for the effective implementation of the concept of public transport integration in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. Its significance and value for practice result from the identification of integration goals and potential threats to their achievement. The authors are scientists and practitioners in the field of passenger transport systems operation. Originality/value: The study is the first critical assessment of the concept of public transport integration in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It indicates its weaknesses and threats, taking into account the experiences of Poland and other countries. Keywords: management, urban transport, integration. Category of paper: research paper.