The aim of the paper is to identify the main factors and mechanisms behind the development of low-emission public transport vehicles in Polish cities. This innovation is primarily connected with growing environmental requirements for transport, with the EU environmental and transport policies being the key factors. However, strategies of local governments and municipal transport companies as well as the organization of urban transport - which differs significantly between cities - also play an important role. Three basic types of approach towards low-emission buses can be observed in Polish cities: tests of electric and hybrid vehicles, purchases of small quantities of buses in order to implement new solutions, and finally attempts to replace the majority or even the entire transport fleet with low-emission vehicles. It should be emphasised that an important element which affects the development of low emission public urban transport in Poland is the fact that the country has become one of the main bus producers in Europe - a fact which is a result of both large-scale foreign investments and the success of Polish manufacturers.

One of the key challenges on the road to sustainable mobility is the development of low/zero emission urban public transport (UPT). This is crucial in order to meet environmental requirements aiming at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. In some countries (e.g., Poland) reduction of air pollution is also an important reason behind the implementation of low/zero emission UPT. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors and mechanisms influencing the development of modern electromobility in Polish UPT. We have examined all 242 UPT systems in the country in terms of the characteristics of the relevant urban municipalities, such as size, economic prosperity, level of human and social capital, development paths of urban public transport in the long term as well as the institutional context and proximity and connections to other cities with experience in electromobility. Classification and statistical methods are used based on a variety of approaches, as assigning a score to various preliminarily identified indicators or applying correlation between quantities to verify the formulated hypotheses. Our analysis demonstrates that electromobility adoption is the result of a combination of favourable economic, urban, social and technological characteristic features of a given city. Zero or low emission buses are more common in large cities which are highly positioned in urban hierarchy, economically sound and which are characterized by a well-developed tertiary economy as well as by high human capital. An additional factor that positively influences the implementation of electromobility—in particular at the very first stage—is proximity to the location of low emission bus producers. The leadership in modern electromobility can be understood as part of a broader, proactive development policy of the cities aimed at improving the quality of life of their residents. This is especially important in medium-sized towns where utilizing electric vehicles can be an instrument to maintain or even develop their role and status. The results of the article may provide a basis for creating sustainable urban policies, especially sustainable mobility and improving environmental quality.

The rapid growth of Central European economies has been related to inward FDI, so these countries are often regarded as dependent market economies. What is interesting in this context is the international expansion of some domestic-owned manufacturing companies from Central Europe. Looking through the lens of global production networks (GPN) and evolutionary resilience perspectives, the paper aims to identify paths and mechanisms of development of new multinational companies, namely Polish automotive firms expanding from around 2010 onwards in the global markets through acquisitions and greenfield investments in Western Europe, North America, and Asia. The authors ponder on the underlying motives and barriers of this process, the capabilities, and features of Polish-owned companies. In order to do it, both qualitative (13 interviews with representatives of new multinationals and the other stakeholders preceded by content analysis of various documents, including company annual reports in particular) and quantitative (analysis of international trade, revenues, employment, locational data) insights are used for the period covering the time span between 1999 and 2020. As the result, the international expansion of domestic-owned firms is interpreted as a specific critical conjuncture of three mechanisms: (1) development of Central-Eastern European economies since the end of communism, (2) the evolution of the Western European core, and (3) the trajectory of individual Polish firms. We argue development trajectories of the firms going global cannot be understood without taking into account the dynamic interdependence between firm-specific capabilities (including the position within GPNs) and the changing characteristics of the countries (e.g., evolving regional assets).

Spatial accessibility by public transport is an important component of quality of life and an important factor undermining the development of rural areas. It is also a key element of a sustainable mobility system. The capitals of the powiat (county-level tier of administration in Poland) represent the level of the country’s urban hierarchy at which most-important public services are provided. Yet previously only rather few accessibility studies had been carried out, to consider how accessible the rural localities (villages) in the countries different province-regions might be. To fill that gap, the research presented in this paper sought to assess the 2019 level of accessibility via public transport to their own county cities (powiat capitals) that characterized no fewer than 14,271 rural localities in 6 of Poland’s 16 province-regions (i.e. Łódzkie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Małopolskie, Pomorskie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie and Zachodniopomorskie). The work also investigated factors shaping this accessibility, with a contribution thereby made to the ongoing debate as to the suitability of the current administrative division of Poland at county (powiat) level. The main findings and principal patterns as regards spatial accessibility could be summarised as follows: a. 1181 (8% of the studied) rural localities, with 215,000 inhabitants overall (or 4% of the rural population) had effectively no access to public transport at all; given that the nearest bus stop/railway station was beyond the acceptable distance of 4 km. b. Province-regions were found to differ markedly in terms of the measured accessibility, with Małopolskie province-region faring much better overall than the others (Figs. 1‑2, 10). c. Nevertheless, internal differentiation in levels of accessibility was greater within province-regions than between them. The best-observed accessibility characterised the environs of larger cities, and especially the Metropolitan Areas of Kraków (Małopolskie), Łódź (Łódzkie) and Gdańsk (Pomorskie), as well as the main transport corridors. Only poor accessibility characterised peripheral areas of most of the counties, while the worst accessibility of all applied in places where powiat-level peripheries were simultaneously peripheries of entire province-regions. d. An important factor determining accessibility was the type and size of rural locality. The larger the village, the better the accessibility (Fig. 19). This also linked up with the way in which size anyway correlated positively with distance to county city. This is to say that villages close to county cities had populations 30‑40% larger than those located on peripheries. e. Size of a county city also correlated positively with that city’s accessibility (Fig. 18). That was especially true of cities with 20,000 or fewer inhabitants. These have less-developed public transport and, as a consequence, far lower accessibility in their environs. Taken together, these patterns sustain a conclusion that the deregulation of public transport in Poland, which took place in the 1990s and ushered in a competitive market model, has had a serious impact on accessibility, ensuring further polarisation and growth in disparities. While better-developed areas (those in which population density is higher and villages larger) continue to furnish enough demand for commercially-viable public transport to be sustained, most of the peripheral, low-population areas are now at risk of transport-related exclusion. In most cases, there is poor public transport in such areas solely because some lines connecting cities or leading to certain tourist destinations remain in place and cross peripheries.

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology is rapidly advancing, leading to a sustainable evolution in transportation. AVs offer the promise of enhanced safety, reduced emissions, improved traffic flow, and increased mobility for passengers. However, the integration of AVs into existing traffic networks presents complex challenges related to ecological sustainability and passenger comfort. This review aims to bridge the gap in the literature by providing a comprehensive evaluation of the influence of AVs on both ecology and passenger comfort within traffic networks. The study synthesizes existing knowledge on AV technology, ecological impacts, and passenger comfort to offer a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with AVs’ integration. The main objectives of this research are to review the current literature on the environmental impact of AVs, analyze studies on passenger comfort in AVs, identify key challenges and opportunities, and propose future research directions. The results highlight the need for a holistic, sustainable approach that considers both ecological and passenger-centric factors in the design and deployment of AVs. Future research directions are proposed to further our understanding of the complex interplay between AVs, the environment, and passenger well-being, and inform policy decisions and technological advancements that promote sustainable and comfortable transportation solutions.

Today, automobile dependency constantly causes traffic congestion, delays, reduced access, increased fuel and energy consumption, and environmental emissions. Automobile dependency has caused many direct and indirect transportation problems that may influence our life. Urban planners and transportation engineers seek to improve transport networks considering social issues. One of the most successful solutions for advocating sustainable transport is transit-oriented development (TOD). Another solution that planners encourage to use is designing the roadways based on a complete street approach, which is a system that provides safe, convenient, and comfortable travel and increases accessibility for users of all ages regardless of their transport modes. The present study employed the saturated roads that have heavy traffic most of the time and public transport e-ticket data to investigate the potential complete streets in Qazvin. An online questionnaire was developed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method based on the TOD and the complete street framework to investigate the essential criteria for redesigning the network based on the active transport approach. Thus, after analyzing the six criteria (density, diversity, distance, accessibility, demand management, and design) and eight sub-criteria (pedestrian flow, pedestrian density, connectivity, safety, bike route, bus route, road width, and urban tree canopy index), the proposed active transport network emerged and results show that five high priority streets were identified to be considered as a solution.