Spatial patterns of travel behaviour in Poland

Abstract

Proper investigation of travel behaviour – its spatial variability and determinants, is a key factor in correct national and local policy-making on transport. In this paper we try to identify the main features of travel behaviour in Poland as well as its relationship to travellers’ places of residence and destinations. This is the first such an attempt in Poland, and is based on the travel behaviour data of 26,000 Poles. The data was obtained in 2015 and released by the Central Statistical Office; previously such information hasn’t been available. The survey reveals that despite the different path of socio-economic and political development, the travel behaviour of Poles isn’t very different from that observed in Western and Northern Europe. The car is the dominant means of transport; our travelling relies heavily on commuting; and we also tend to cover similar distances. What makes Poland a little bit different is that fewer journeys are made each day. Travel behaviour is affected more by the type of area where the travellers live (urban/rural) than by the location of this area in the settlement system (urban/peripheral regions).