(English) Best Practices

PKM Gliwice operates as a Company in which the City of Gliwice holds the largest shares. The primary task of the Company is to carry out commissioned tasks in the field of public transport services. In addition, it carries out planned tasks in the field of maintenance, technical inspections and repairs of its own and borrowed assets, as well as planned tasks in the sale of other services. With its work, the company contributes to the smooth operation of bus transportation by, among other things, increasing the comfort of the ride. It continually strives to provide services at a level that guarantees the satisfaction of its customers. It places special emphasis on providing comfort for the disabled, the elderly and mothers with children. Travel comfort means safety, punctuality, efficiency and friendly passenger service. An equally important element of PKM Gliwice's policy is its efforts to reduce the negative impact on the environment, which it carries out, among other things, through the successive replacement of rolling stock with environmentally friendly vehicles.

This company has replaced and renewed its fleet by purchasing and introducing to urban transport buses with engines meeting the EURO VI emission standard (36 buses in 2016-2019) and with electric propulsion (from 2022 - 10 units), replacing the old ones with EURO II engines.

In 1998, the Board of PKM in Gliwice decided to join the Cleaner Production program. Cleaner Production is an environmental protection strategy of continuous, preventive action with regard to processes and services, aiming to increase the efficiency of services and reduce risks to people and the environment. Within the framework of this program, the company has carried out a series of tasks through which it has demonstrated a systematic reduction of adverse environmental impacts resulting from its operations and services, and has submitted plans for further environmental measures.

The company has implemented and continues to implement EU projects contributing to the reduction of negative environmental impacts. These projects include: "Development of low-emission public transport in Gliwice through the purchase of 17 hybrid buses", "Purchase of electric buses with the necessary charging infrastructure", "Reduction of pollutants emitted into the air through renewal of the bus fleet with the construction of a parking plaza".

PKM Gliwice also cares about the comfort of all its passengers. In particular, it is focusing on solutions to improve the accessibility of transport infrastructure and vehicles for people with various disabilities, the elderly and those traveling with young children.

Systematic replacement of the old bus fleet, with new, low-emission and more environmentally friendly buses, improving air quality in Gliwice, combating the exclusion of people with disabilities when it comes to using public transport.

The company has been successful in terms of being appreciated by the local authorities and residents of the city of Gliwice, with more and more passengers starting to use public transport on the grounds that it is more environmentally friendly, influenced precisely by the replacement of old buses with new, much greener ones. PKM Gliwice is also successfully raising funds from the European Union to implement its projects aimed at making public transport as sustainable as possible.

PKM Gliwice, thanks to its pro-environmental activities, has been included in the Polish Register of Cleaner Production and Responsible Enterprise.

The challenge to implementing such a green change as is taking place at PKM Gliwice is certainly the cost of the project, because when it comes to means of transport, their cost is always high, especially the modern and environmentally friendly ones. Therefore, the best solution is to find funds or subsidies that can mostly cover the cost of such an investment. In the case of the company discussed here, these are EU funds, but there are also other ways of financing companies to help them make the ecological transition.

It is also important to adapt the current infrastructure to make it as accessible as possible to everyone. Such adaptations also require financial resources, so, as in the case of grants for the purchase of new buses, such grants will also help to implement changes that are beneficial to society.

Administrator PKM. (2021). INFORMACJA NA TEMAT REALIZACJI PROJEKTÓW ZE ŚRODKÓW UNIJNYCH. Retrieved from: https://www.pkm-gliwice.com.pl/projekty-unijne

Administrator PKM. (2021). O firmie. Retrieved from: https://www.pkm-gliwice.com.pl/?view=article&id=8:o-firmie&catid=9