Polish rural municipalities are raising concerns that revisions to the bus fund allocation will exacerbate transport exclusion, shifting control to regional authorities.
Centralization of Transport Exclusion Measures?
Rural municipalities are warning of potential transport exclusion stemming from changes to the bus fund. The Association of Rural Municipalities of the Republic of Poland (ZGWRP) assesses that the proposed amendments to the regulations concerning the bus fund carry the risk of reversing the intended goal.
Shift in Fund Control to Voivodeships
The ZGWRP highlights that the revised draft law on public collective transport (UD232) transfers the role of transport integrators from voivodes (governors) to voivodeship marshals. Funding from the bus fund will now be allocated only to lines included in the voivodeship’s network scheme.
Priority for funds will initially be given to counties, associations of counties, or county-municipal associations for lines providing minimal public transport services, a shift from the current priority given to municipalities.
Concerns Over Local Needs Being Overlooked
The ZGWRP argues that transferring the authority to define transport routes and funding from municipalities to the voivodeship level, without mechanisms to guarantee the inclusion of local needs in higher-level plans, could hinder local public transport, contradicting the law’s stated goal of preventing transport exclusion.
Funding Priority Shift Disadvantages Municipalities
Rural municipalities object to being placed at the end of the funding queue after the changes. The voivodeship marshal will distribute the funds, with regions receiving priority, followed by counties and their associations.
Ministry Justifies Changes with Coordination Concerns
The Ministry of Infrastructure argues that the new proposed order of priority for subsidies addresses the problem of fragmentation of public transport organizers in Poland, leading to disorganized and uncoordinated services.
ZGWRP Warns of Increased Inequality
However, the ZGWRP contends that this solution leads to unequal access to funding and favors the concentration of resources in larger centers at the expense of rural areas, which are most in need of support. Local authorities argue that municipalities are the primary organizers of local transport and best understand the needs of residents.
Potential for Deepened Exclusion in Rural Areas
The ZGWRP concludes that the proposed changes, despite their declared aim of reducing transport exclusion, may in practice deepen exclusion in rural areas and small municipalities through excessive centralization of transport decisions, limiting the role of municipalities in planning and funding, and creating structural barriers to access to the Fund for those most in need of support. They are appealing for modifications to the draft law.