On our forum, a reader using the nickname Kto to uchwala wrote: “Let no one be misled by the provision on free travel for children under four. In Bolesławiec, transporting a child of this age requires payment of the full fare.” They added: “I propose that, by resolution of the City Council, pram storage facilities be created at bus stops. Travelling with toddlers will certainly become dangerous, but then it will be fully in the spirit of the law.”
We asked City Council councillors about the controversial provision. Asked for comment, Hubert Prabucki of Ziemia Bolesławiecka said that the resolution had been adopted and that he did not intend to comment on it. Leszek Chudzik of Bolesławiec XXI contacted MZK after our phone call. At the company, he was told that the president had instructed inspectors to check the ages of children in prams. If a child is under four, no penalty for failing to purchase a ticket for the pram will be imposed.
“This is indeed a mistake,” Bogusław Nowak of PO said in a conversation with us. “Mistakes happen; it would be good to consider this mistake,” he added. Stanisław Andrusieczko of SLD held a similar view: “When adopting this resolution, I personally did not consider this issue. I believe that if a child is entitled to free transport, there should be no charge for the pram either.” Janusz Kozioł of Ziemia Bolesławiecka noted: “At the next City Council committee meeting, we will ask the president of MZK to clarify the provision concerning the fee for prams and the provision concerning exemption from ticket charges for children under four.”
MZK President Rebuts the Allegations
“I see no inconsistency; one thing does not rule out the other,” Andrzej Jagiera, president of the Municipal Transport Company, told the IstotneInformacje.pl portal. “There is not the slightest malice here.” As he stressed, the City Council resolution clearly lists the people entitled to free travel. “A pram is not a person; a pram is treated as luggage,” the president added.
Jagiera pointed out that these regulations had been in force for more than a dozen years. Councillors introduced free travel for children under four, even though they were not legally required to do so. At the same time, the president denied that he had ordered inspectors not to impose penalties for failing to purchase a ticket for a pram. However, there is an option for parents who frequently use public transport. If the pram is small and folded, it will not be treated as luggage. “A large pram takes up space,” the president explained. “It would be absurd if someone boarded a bus with it without paying, while someone who wanted to pay could not board.” He added that he would present the same arguments to councillors if they wanted to introduce an amendment to the resolution.
(information ii)