E-revolution in post-communist country? A critical review of electric public transport development in Poland

Abstract

Due to its ecological and operational advantages, electric transport fits perfectly with the idea of so-called “electromobility” and a broadly-understood concept of the “smart city”. Therefore, there is a necessity to pay special attention to the role and significance of electric transport in development of low-emission economies in urban areas. In order to meet the objectives of the EU climate polity and to make its economy more innovative, Poland developed its own project aimed at developing electric urban transport systems in cities of different sizes.The Ministry of Development decided that electric transport (both private and public) would be an area of economy that may constitute a driving force for further development of the country. The E-Bus project assumed implementation of more than 800 electric buses to transport systems of different Polish cities until 2020 (it would be 7% of all buses in operation). Poland was supposed to become a leader of electric transport in Europe. However, the project fell through and at the end of 2020 there were only 416 electric buses in operation.The article provide an in-depth analysis of opportunities and barriers to development of electromobility in public transport in a post-communist country. The author took the perspective of both operators and manufacturers of the vehicles into consideration. The analysis was based on the past Polish experiences in managing and maintaining urban electric transport systems as well as in manufacturing electric vehicles. Special attention was paid to experiences related to designing and manufacturing electric buses.