Political polarization even includes tickets – after the change of government work on the integration of public transport tariffs began again. Can the National Integrated Ticket be introduced by the end of the word of office?
A 3rd of the party's word of office passed, which came to the elections with promises to introduce a nationwide inexpensive network ticket for public transport.
Already in January 2023 the creation of specified a ticket was demanded by the Government of Law and Justice organization Poland 2050, then inactive in opposition. “We call for the government to introduce 1 ticket for about 150 PLN, 5 PLN per day. For this PLN 5 a day each of us has the chance to drive public, regional and over-regional transport," said Szymon Hołownia. Then, in the electoral programme led by Poland 2050, it stood: “We will introduce 1 monthly ticket, thanks to which we will be able to travel all means of collective transport across Poland for 150 PLN”.
On the another hand, Lewica included in her programme the point "Local transport for 59 PLN per month" and promised: "Like German we will introduce a subscription for urban, municipal and regional transport across the country".
PolenTicket?
9-Euro-Ticket impressed Polish politicians, who for 3 months – from June to August 2022 – functioned in Germany. Buying a ticket for 9 euros, i.e. for little than 40 PLN, it was possible to travel without restrictions throughout Germany by regional rail, local buses and city transport. The successor of the 9-Euro-Ticket ticket is Deutschlandticket, which has been operating since May 2023, allowing the usage of regional railways, local buses and urban transport across the country for 58 euro per period (about 240 PLN). It works on a subscription basis – a ticket is purchased for a year and a full of 58 euros is charged all period from the bank account. At the end of 2024, Deutschlandticket tickets purchased had 13.5 million people. The ticket operates through the backing of the national Government and the Lands, which spend a full of EUR 3 billion per year to cover the carriers' revenues lost by the fact that people with Deutschlandticket no longer buy standard tickets.
In Austria, since 2021, Czymaticket has been available, which costs EUR 1179.30 (about PLN 4900). It is crucial not only in urban transport, local buses and regional trains, but besides in long-distance trains – both the State carrier ÖBB and private companies WestBahn and RegioJet.
W From 2023 Hungary has been available a network monthly ticket for the full country, which costs 18900 forints (i.e. about 200 zł) – it is honoured on regional and long-distance trains, local buses and urban transport in Budapest. inexpensive network ticket was created after
In 2021, the State railway carrier MÁV became the owner of the country-wide bus operator Volánbusz.
When Lewica and Poland 2050 entered the government coalition, they rapidly stepped up their enthusiasm to introduce a network ticket in Poland, following solutions operating in Germany, Austria and Hungary.
Derailed Joint Ticket
The coalition agreement concluded in November 2023 by the Civic Coalition, the Polish People's Party, Poland 2050 and Lewica contained this general record: "We will make an integrated strategy allowing to buy a ticket to travel utilizing any means of collective transport".
Only 3 months later, a substitute for specified a solution – existing since 2018 and covering all rail carriers, the Common Ticket tariff offer – was rendered meaningless. This is the consequence of a drastic increase in the prices of the Common Ticket introduced in February 2024 (another was in January 2025). For example, the price of the Joint Ticket from Radom to Łuków with a transfer in Dęblin from the Mazowieckie Railway to Polregio increased first in the year from PLN 22.50 to PLN 40, then to PLN 44. Thus the Common Ticket became much more costly than the tickets purchased separately – then 35.80 zł (PLN 12.80 for the ticket of the Mazowieckie Radom Railway – Dęblin and PLN 23 for the ticket of Polregio Dęblin – Łuków).
The Joint Ticket, introduced in 2018 under the auspices of the Ministry of Infrastructure, was to be gradually developed. In 2020, the ministry – then led by Andrzej Adamczyk from the Law and Justice Department – announced the improvement of the offer, among another things, by "expanding it about bus carriers and local collective transport in individual cities".
Ministry has no competence
When the Common Ticket prices increased importantly after the change of power, the bimonthly “With Run Sin” asked the Ministry of Infrastructure to take a position on this matter. – ‘The conditions of operation of the Joint Ticket shall be determined by the agreement concluded between the participants of that initiative. The Ministry of Infrastructure is not a organization to the agreement and does not have the competence to accept the activities of the carriers under it," he replied in February 2024. Rafał Jaskowski from the Ministry of Infrastructure.
The Ministry, on the 1 hand, was distancing itself from the just corrupted increase in the Common Ticket offer, and on the another hand announced the introduction of... a common ticket. In March 2024, Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak of PSL announced on TVP Info: "About 2027 we will have a joint ticket".
In May 2024, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Piotr Malebszak stated: “The Ministry of Infrastructure is examining the anticipation of introducing a National Integrated Ticket, combining various types of public transport. This task is an advanced and comprehensive concept that responds to the increasing challenges of urban and regional mobility and the request to advance sustainable transport in Poland," TVN24 said a year ago. "The strategy should yet cover all public transport on a voluntary basis".
Ticket déjà vu
It was only in February 2025 that Minister Dariusz Klimczak issued an order setting up a squad for the National Integrated Ticket project. The squad included, among others, Deputy Minister Piotr Malebszak (as president of the steering committee), manager of the Railway Institute Andrzej Massel and Head of the Ministry Department of Railways Tomasz Warsza.
By reading the order of Minister Klimczak, you can feel déjà vu. 9 years ago, a akin act was issued by his predecessor from the Government of Law and Justice: Andrzej Adamczyk appointed the Steering Committee for the Joint Ticket task by order of May 2016. A ticket under this name was introduced in December 2018. Although the committee's work lasted for 2 and a half years, the offer was implemented with a number of imperfections. It was not possible to acquisition a Common Ticket with conductor teams and ticket vending machines. erstwhile part of the journey takes place in the Mazowieckie Railways, it is impossible to buy a Common Ticket via the Internet, and erstwhile the Lower Silesian Railways, it cannot be bought at the ticket office. Moreover, a Common Ticket cannot be utilized erstwhile the journey includes a transfer of little than 10 minutes.
Contrary to the announcements about the improvement of the Joint Ticket, this offer was not extended to include periodic tickets. The Polish railway lacks a monthly ticket allowing to travel by regional and long-distance trains. First of all, on those sections where only trains from both segments together supply an attractive offer. For example, only 5 regional trains run from Olsztyn to Olsztyn regular (at 5:08, 6:36, 8:46, 15:08 and 19:35), but already along with the trains of PKP Intercity connections is 12 per day (at 5:08, 6:36, 7:58, 8:46, 9:58, 11:58, 15:08, 15:59, 18:01, 19:35, 20:03, 22:01). So far only on the Warsaw – Łódź way the rule was introduced that the PKP Intercity periodic tickets are honoured on trains of Polregio and Łódź Agglomeration Railway. fewer people remember that respective years ago on the Polish railway monthly and quarterly tickets for regional trains were besides crucial in long-distance trains.
Under the Laws, the Ministry of Infrastructure – despite the announcements submitted – failed to extend the Common Ticket to local bus and urban transport services.
After the government changed the Ministry of Infrastructure, but alternatively of perfecting and developing the existing Common Ticket offer, decided to work on tariff integration to start from scratch – first by inventing a fresh name.
As you can see, political polarisation even covers the issue of tickets. Each side of the political scene starts from the beginning working on solutions to guarantee tariff integration of different public transport modes.
According to the assumptions of the Ministry of Infrastructure, one-off and one-month tickets for a given account regardless of the carrier and the time of departure are to be introduced within the framework of the National Integrated Ticket, as well as a ticket covering all regional rail carriers and public transport, and the Ministry does not yet disclose whether it would be, like Deutschlandticket, a national ticket.
Together and yet separately
There is presently no network ticket in Poland to let all regional carriers to travel.
Tourist Ticket – which costs PLN 59 and is valid from 18:00 on Friday to 6:00 on Monday – is honoured on trains of Polregio, Małopolska Railways, Wielkopolska Railways, Łódź Agglomeration Railway and Arriva. The same carriers besides honor RegioCarnet – a network ticket of PLN 93, which is valid for 3 freely selected days in 2 months. The Lower Silesian Railways first withdrew from accepting the Tourist Ticket and RegioKarnet in 2018 and then in 2021 the Silesian Railways (these tickets were never recognized by the Mazowieckie Railways, the Warsaw Arrival Railway and the Railways of Railways of the Railways of the Town in Tricity).
At the same time there is simply a Common Local Government Ticket – it costs PLN 59 and entitles to travel for 24 hours by trains of all but Polregio regional companies: the Mazowieckie Railway, the Warsaw Directions Railway, the Łódź Agglomeration Railway, the Silesian Railway, the Małopolska Railway, the Wielkopolska Railway, the Lower Silesian Railway and Arriva.
The prologue of the Ministry of Infrastructure's efforts to integrate tariffs could be to launch a joint local government ticket, Tourist Ticket and RegioCarnet initiative in a coherent portfolio of network time tickets – daily, weekend or three-day – recognised by all without exception regional rail carriers. In doing so, it would be advisable to establish cooperation with bus operators to include in the offer of network time tickets, so that they would be recognised, for example, by Beskid Communication, Podkarpackie car Communication or Grodziskie Bus Transport. any bus operators may be open to specified cooperation, as they already premium rail passengers themselves. Grodziskie Przewoje Busowe gives 45% discount on monthly tickets to people who have a monthly ticket of the Mazowieckie Railway or the Warsaw Directions Railway, and in bus transport of the municipality Kobierzyce to the holders of periodic tickets of the Lower Silesian Railways are free of charge to the railway stations.
It would besides be desirable to come out with a proposal to the city transportation boards to honor network time tickets, which could arise after the Tourist Ticket, the RegioCarnet and the Joint Local Government Ticket.
The Ministry of Infrastructure would establish a platform for applicable cooperation with railway operators, organisers of local bus connections and municipal transport managements on the issue of temporary network tickets at the threshold of work on the National Integrated Ticket, which is to address challenges specified as the harmonisation of statutory concessions, the bonding of ticketing systems, or the creation of a call search engine covering all means of collective transport.
The creation of network time tickets would besides be a way forward with the implementation of the promises made before the parliamentary elections by Lewica and Poland 2050 regarding the creation of an attractive and affordable ticket covering railways, local buses and urban transport across Poland. The question is whether these parties inactive remember that they promised to introduce specified a solution.
Karol Trammer
The text comes from the bimonthly “With the Run of Sin” (No 3/136 May-June 2025)
https://www.zbs.net.pl photograph in the title: photograph by Tomasz Chmielewski
