Bike sharing in 10 European countries report. Module 7: Poland

Transcription

1 Working Document Number: D 2.4 Work package: Bike sharing in 10 European countries report. Module 7: Poland WP2 Date of Preparation: Author(s): Magdalena Kowalewska, Rafał Ejsmont Editor(s): Project Co-ordinator: Alberto Castro Fernández, Günter Emberger, Nigel Williams Janett Büttner choice GmbH Holzmarktstraße 6-9 D Berlin Tel +49 (0) buettner@choice.de

2 Table of Contents 1. Country overview 4 2. Market Potential 6 3. Kraków City overview Bike One 9 1

3 Figures Figure 1-1: Map of Poland Image: Google 4 Figure 1-2: BikeOne user on the Vistula River embankment. Image: BikeOne 5 Figure 3-1: Map of Krakow. Image: Google Maps 8 Figure 3-2: Map of BikeOne stations. Image: BikeOne 9 Figure 3-3: BikeOne station Image: Rafal Ejsmont 10 2

4 Tables Table 1-1: Facts and figures of Poland. 5 Table 2-1: Polish BSS status quo. 6 Table 3-1: Facts and figures of Krakow. 9 Table 3-2: Facts and figures of BikeOne of Krakow. 10 3

5 1. Country overview Poland is a country located on the Central European Plains with postglacial hilly regions in the north and some medium height mountains (the Sudety and Carpathians) in the south. Southern, relatively more industrialized regions of Poland have some more densely populated areas. Since 1990 the country has been a subject of a rapid transition towards the market oriented economy and in 2004 became a member of the European Union. Car ownership has radically increased in the last years, even if the annual income of the population is still substantially lower than the EU average. Figure 1-1: Map of Poland Image: Google Maps A quite varied, generally medium level of bicycle ownership in Poland is not reflected in the level of daily cycle use. Cycling is considered mostly as a recreational activity. In certain urban areas, however, some symptoms of recovery of daily cycling usage can be observed. A Green Paper on the Regional Cycling System was prepared by a Pomeranian NGO in 2008, but has not yet been made available to the general public. Helmets are not obligatory for cyclists in Poland. 4

6 Country overview (a)2009. Population (a) Net income (a) Bicycle ownership 38,138,000 4, /person*year 63% of households has at least one bike Table 1-1: Facts and figures of Poland. Krakow s BikeOne was the first implemented bike sharing scheme in Poland. It was similar to the Bicing scheme in Barcelona. Initiated on 15th November 2008 as a pilot project. It was closed after four weeks to be re-opened in March Other large cities in Poland (Lodz, Wroclaw, Poznan, Warsaw and Gdansk) claim to be studying the idea of implementing bike-sharing schemes but considering the poor status of municipal cycling policies it appears that these projects have not developed into actual implementation. In the OBIS WP2 project only one operating bike sharing scheme (BikeOne of Krakow) was studied. The following market potential analysis is based on the data collection from that one scheme. The data collection could not provide figures that allow a detailed analysis of market potentials per city category including modal split figures or PT characteristics. Therefore the following analysis is a very rough estimation that might be refined during the key factor research later in the project. Figure 1-2: BikeOne user on the Vistula River embankment. Image: BikeOne 5

7 2. Market Potential Poland is a medium sized European country with 231 cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants, including the relatively large number of 39 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. The coverage of bike sharing schemes is practically nil, although in four large cities the introduction of such schemes is being officially considered in the last couple of years. Large cities and especially medium-sized cities are not yet covered at all by bike sharing schemes. There is no country or region wide of bike rental systems even though there are some private bike rental facilities in particular tourist areas. Railway operators offer some bike carrying opportunities but there are very few if any secure bike parking and rental facilities at railway stations. However, in view of substantial traffic congestion problems, there is a considerable potential to introduce a regular bike sharing system in a number of large conurbations. >500, , , ,000-20,000 Total No. of Polish cities with population > per size category No. of Polish cities with BSS in operation 1 No. of Polish cities with BSS considered for implementation Table 2-1: Polish BSS status quo. In view of the low level of understanding of the potential value of cycling as an urban transport mode among city decision makers and city planners, the short term potential of BSS is only perceived among a very small number of larger cities. The level of development of visible cycling infrastructure is very low. The visible cycling infrastructure is fragmented and usually of poor quality, while the concept of invisible cycling infrastructure is either unknown or misunderstood. Some cities tend to extend the car-free areas in urban centres, but quite often cycling there is formally prohibited. There are practically no secure bike facilities in either urban areas, at railway stations or public transport hubs. The difficult financial situation in cities due to a world wide crisis results in cuts in the amounts devoted to the development of cycling in some municipalities. In view of the low institutional position of cycling in the public sphere, the fund available within the framework of EU sponsored projects is often misallocated. This situation is also due to lack of organised co-operation of cycling advocacy groups with public authorities. The share of cycling in the modal split is not subject to regular monitoring; rough estimates suggest that it amounts to 1-3% in some cities. Most cycling traffic in large urban areas has a recreational character. The only BSS introduced in Krakow last year has 6

8 Market Potential gained much publicity in the national media and has become quite popular among the local population. It is now a source of inspiration for other urban areas. 7

9 3. Kraków 3.1 City overview Although a small part of Krakow is situated on a hilly area, most of the city is flat since it lies on the area located along the Vistula riverbed. Krakow is the second most important cultural and academic centre of the country, being a world class tourist destination thanks to its rich cultural heritage. A large part of the city is densely built up, while the historical centre retains its medieval character with a number of squares and streets closed for car traffic and providing good conditions for non-motorised traffic. Krakow has a moderate central European continental climate. Figure 3-1: Map of Krakow. Image: Google Maps Apart from in its historical centre Krakow has only a limited number of cycle tracks. Cycling share is still very low compared with other European cities (2-3% in modal split). Cycling has been mentioned in the local Transport Policy document, produced in 2007, but no target for cycling share was defined there. The municipal budget provides some funding for cycling schemes, but it is not usually spent in a productive way. 8

10 Kraków Bikes may be carried on board buses and trams on the Krakow public transport network. Bikes are carried either on special bike racks mounted on some buses or inside buses or trams outside peak periods. Population (a) Area (b) Tourists per year (b) 756, km² 8,060,000 Temperature Precipitation (b) Average (b) Maximal (a) Minimal (a) Amount Days Modal Split (b) Roads (b) Cycle Car ownership (b) network (b) Private vehicle PT 1,263 km 70 km 613 car/1,000 38% 62% inhab. Accidents per year (b) Total Cycling 1, (a)2006. (b)2007 (c)2009 Table 3-1: Facts and figures of Krakow. Dead persons per year (b) Cycling 1 PT fare (c) 0.53/trip 32.49/month 3.2. Bike One Figure 3-2: Map of BikeOne stations. Image: BikeOne 9

11 Kraków On 15th November 2008 the city of Krakow introduced a bike sharing scheme BikeOne Krakow. The owner of the system is SANMARGAR, a company supported by a mobile phone operator. BikeOne works with fixed stations and registration is required. Customers may only preregister for the scheme via the internet, paying a deposit of 26. A subscription fee valid for 7, 30 or 90 days or the whole season costs 2.56; 5.34; or respectively. All payments have to be made either with a bank card or via a bank transfer. Users must have a specified minimum balance to cover the current bike rental costs, which depend on the time of usage. After registration, the user selects a bike at the station, enters the station bike locker number, a client number and a PIN and then if the system accepts the transaction - the bike must be taken from the station within 15 seconds. To return the bike the user locks the bike introducing part of the bike into the hire post at the station. Figure 3-3: BikeOne station Image:Rafal Ejsmont BikeOne offers a non-stop service (24h/7d). The first twenty minutes rental is free. The next 40 minutes costs 0.25, 60 to 120 minutes costs 0.38 and further hours costs These amounts are deducted from the client s account balance. Registrations Rents Infrastructure (b) Average rent User profile (b) Total (a) 2008 Stations Bicycles duration (b) Male years old 605 8, min 92% 63% (a)from the start till (b)2008 Table 3-2: Facts and figures of BikeOne of Krakow. 10