Energy transformation is one of the processes shaping contemporary urban transport systems, with public transport being the subject of initiatives designed to enhance its attractiveness and transport utility, including electromobility. This article presents a case study for a metropolitan conurbation—the GZM Metropolis in Poland—considering the economic efficiency of implementing buses with conventional diesel engines, electric buses (battery electric buses), and hydrogen fuel cell-powered buses. The analysis is based on the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) method using the discounted cash flow (DCF) method.

The development of public transport systems is related to the implementation of modern and low-carbon vehicles. Over the last several years, there has been a clear progress in this field. The number of electric buses has increased, and the first solutions in the area of hydrogen fuel cells have been implemented. Unfortunately, the implementation of these technologies is connected with significant financial expenditure. The goal of the article is the analysis of effectiveness of financial investment, consisting in the purchase of 30 new public transport buses (together with the necessary infrastructure–charging stations). The analysis has been performed using the NPV method for the period of 10 years. Discount rate was determined on 4%, as recommended by the European Commission for this type of project. It is based on the case study of the investment project carried out by Metropolis GZM in Poland. The article determines and compares the efficiency ratios for three investment options-purchase of diesel-powered, battery-powered, and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles. The results of the analysis indicate that the currently high costs of vehicle purchase and charging infrastructure are a significant barrier for the implementation of battery-powered and hydrogen fuel-cell buses. In order to meet the transport policy goals related to the exchange of traditional bus stock to more eco-friendly vehicles, it is necessary to involve public funds for the purpose of financing the investment activities.

The public urban transport market takes the form of a natural monopoly. In some cases, especially in the situation of supply of a relatively large volume of operation work, the implementation of competitive solutions may result in: improving the quality of services or reducing the cost of vehicle-kilometers. The purpose of the article is to present the determinants of functioning of regulated competition on the public urban transport market in Poland. The conducted analysis focuses on the issue of market openness and access to participation in competitive procedures of private operators. The research covered urban transport markets in cities over 200.000 inhabitants and their characteristics in the scope of: the model of public transport organization (with particular emphasis on the level of opening of markets), the level of competition on the operator market and the method of selecting operators. On the basis of the conducted research, the scope of applying pro-competitive solutions in the scope of contracting services by the largest organizers of public urban transport in Poland was characterized.

Rynek publicznego transportu zbiorowego charakteryzuje się występowaniem monopolu naturalnego. W konsekwencji w Polsce realizacja przewozów odbywa się na podstawie ustanowienia podmiotu wewnętrznego (Rozporządzenie WE 1370/2007). W przypadku organizatorów publicznego transportu zbiorowego kontraktujących znaczny wolumen pracy eksploatacyjnej dochodzi do wdrożenia rozwiązań konkurencyjnych i zastosowania modelu opartego na konkurencji regulowanej. W modelu tym operatorów publicznego transportu zbiorowego wybiera się przez stosowanie procedury zamówień publicznych. Najczęściej przedmiotem postępowania jest obsługa jednej linii komunikacyjnej lub pakietu, o której realizację rywalizują podmioty prywatne oraz komunalne. Celem artykułu jest ocena rozwoju konkurencji regulowanej na silnie skoncentrowanym rynku transportu publicznego przez pryzmat rynku operatorskiego. Podstawowym źródłem danych są te udostępnione przez organizatorów transportu publicznego dotyczące udziału poszczególnych operatorów w obsłudze linii oraz wyniki postępowań przetargowych, które odzwierciedlają aktywność poszczególnych podmiotów w pozyskiwaniu nowych zleceń. Na podstawie przeprowadzonej analizy wskazano główne tendencje rozwoju rynku publicznego transportu zbiorowego w Polsce.