Only PLN 240 for a thousand kilometres: from PKS Bolesławiec to the Polish seaside!

Grażyna Hanaf: How much does a passenger pay to travel to the seaside from Bolesławiec?

Łukasz Jaźwiec: PLN 125 for an adult one-way ticket; a 10% discount when a return ticket is purchased at the same time, which means around PLN 240 for almost a thousand kilometres. For one or two people, given current fuel prices, there is no better option. There are also statutory discounts, commercial discounts for children and young people, and discounts for seniors.

Will there also be mountain routes? I mean, is there a chance of a southern destination during the summer holidays?

The route to Kołobrzeg was and remains PKS’s flagship service, and even when it was less profitable, it was still operated, especially before the [Fundusz Rozwoju Przewozów Autobusowych (FRPA) – przyp. red]Fundusz Rozwoju Przewozów Autobusowych

You mentioned changes. What exactly changed after 2019?

The year 2019 marked a turning point for bus transport and for our company. In the preceding years, there had been fewer and fewer passengers and routes, and the only way for the company to keep operating was to reduce costs, without any measures to increase revenue.
It looked like this: losses were accumulated for one, two and three years, then assets were sold off to fill the hole, followed by another hole, another sale and another attempt to fill it, and so on. The year 2018 ended with a loss of more than one million zlotys, and in May 2019, when I joined the company, the loss had already reached PLN 600,000 after just four months. The situation was dramatic and morale in the company was very poor. Everyone thought I had come to close the company, sell its assets and leave it at that. Then something happened that changed everything. More precisely, two related things: an agreement between the county and the communes, and the Fund for the Development of Bus Transport.

Was the agreement between the county and the communes concerning transport easy to implement?

First, we agreed that the county needed a carrier to transport children and young people to schools, as well as people who were transport-excluded to work. Then the Fund appeared and compelled local governments to take action. Without local-government participation, it is impossible to obtain money from it. Two things came together: funding from the Fund, and the development of a position that public transport on this scale cannot operate on a commercial basis. Koleje Dolnośląskie has the Marshal’s support and funding from the Marshal’s Office, because railways cannot survive on ticket sales alone. Urban transport is maintained by city presidents and mayors. Yet someone once decided that regional bus transport would be financed by people travelling from villages to towns. That could not work, although it continued for some time. Only those counties that kept their PKS companies going, through tremendous effort, have their own carrier today, like Powiat Bolesławiecki. The collapse of PKS companies in Poland continues, and the pandemic has only deepened it. Since 2019, the number of routes has begun to grow. The commune heads identified the needs and checked residents’ expectations in their communes, while Powiat Bolesławiecki took on the role of organiser and applied for a subsidy. It then entrusted the operation of the services to Spółka PKS Bolesławiec.

So who subsidises local bus transport here?

There is often a narrative, sometimes made as an accusation, that the commune heads finance Spółka PKS—this is untrue. The county is the transport organiser and has an agreement with the Voivode to provide transport. The organiser selects the operator, which in this case is Spółka PKS Bolesławiec. All financial resources are sent to the organiser, which only then allocates the necessary funds on the basis of documentation, that is, completed services. Not before the journeys are provided, but afterwards. We submit a report showing which routes were unprofitable and by how much, and only then does the Voivode reimburse us for the individual routes. We must have vehicles and drivers and provide the service; only then do we receive the subsidy.

Is that why you make investments and use leasing?

Yes. We will not survive without investment and modernisation. We are looking for optimal solutions for the company. Over the past three years, it has been difficult to assess the situation reliably. Schools and workplaces were being closed, or citizens were advised against using public transport. However, we can already see positive results from our actions. Depending on the route, the number of passengers is growing by 10–15%.

How do you intend to convince passengers to choose you?

For years, PKS companies worked to earn a bad reputation. The widespread opinion was that buses were late or that the driver was unpleasant. We focus on punctuality, respond very quickly, provide a replacement bus if something happens, and do not leave passengers stranded, so our punctuality has improved significantly. Customer service is important to us. Employees know that their behaviour will affect whether there is work for them. I meet with the staff and with representatives of the trade unions and say clearly: you have expectations, but together we also have to give more of ourselves.

Will there be fare increases from September?

We have not raised prices for the past three years; there was one adjustment in January 2020. From 1 September 2022, ticket prices will increase by 15–30%, depending on the route, but these will not be large or particularly noticeable amounts. A ticket for up to 3 kilometres used to cost PLN 4.00; after the increase, it will cost PLN 4.50–5.00.

Thank you for the interview.

Information about trips to Kołobrzeg is available at pks-boleslawiec.pl.