The prices of all tickets will be changed from the 1st of January
Published 3 October 2012
Last modified 3 June 2019
Pursuant to the decision of the Warsaw City Council, beginning with 1 January 2013, the second stage of the changes in the ticket tariff applicable for the municipal transport organized by the Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego will become effective. The information campaign will be launched as early as on 8 October this year. We have already prepared a series of information articles concerning the key issues connected with the ticket price changes such as: new rules of the ticket returns, when the old tariff (valid until the end of 2012) expires, when the sales of new tickets starts, etc.
It is worth remembering that the first stage of the tariff changes was implemented on 16 August 2011. The second stage will be introduced on 1 January 2013.
What will the price list of tickets valid from the beginning of next year (standard ticket prices) look like?
A 20-minute ticket will cost PLN 3,40, a 40-minute ticket – PLN 4,60 and a 60-minute ticket – PLN 6,40.
A single ticket valid only in the first zone will cost PLN 4,40. The same price will apply to a single vehicle ticket sold in some ticket vending machines inside the public transport vehicles.
A 24-hour ticket valid only in the first zone will cost PLN 15. A 3-day ticket (also valid only in the first zone) will cost PLN 30.
Long-term bearer tickets valid in the first zone will cost: 30-day – PLN 100, 90-day – PLN 250.
The price of the Senior Ticket will also be changed. It will cost PLN 50.
Along with the ticket prices increase, additional charges will also be raised. Additional charge for travelling without a ticket will cost PLN 220 and the journey without confirmation of entitlement to a discount – PLN 176. Issuing another personalized card will cost PLN 13,20. Handling charge for cancelling the request for payment will amount to PLN 17,60.
Why do ticket prices have to rise?
In order to maintain the current level of service delivered to our customers and undertake activities that contribute to development of public transport, additional resources are necessary.
1. New and modern vehicles are constantly appearing on the streets of Warsaw. The public transport companies improve the quality of their services through systematic replacement of their fleet with the modern one that meets the growing requirements of safety and travel comfort and environmental standards. Also the private carriers, operating on behalf of ZTM, have a modern fleet. In 2011 and 2012, the carriers introduced 99 new trams (this year 12 more are expected), 200 new buses (this year 105 more are expected) and 19 new 6-car SKM trains into service.
In response to the transportation needs of the citizens, the city increases the frequency of running bus and rail transport and creates new connections. The example of such may be S2 and S3 SKM lines which run to the Warsaw Chopin Airport and the extension of S9 line to Wola district.
2. Warsaw carries out important transport investments, such as the construction of the second metro line. Works on new tram routes and modernization the existing ones are taking place.
3. The city contributes substantial amounts to the costs of public transport. For each single ticket the price of which is PLN 3,60, consecutive PLN 6,60 flows in from the city purse. Warsaw is one of the cities with the lowest degree of the coverage of expenditure with use of ticket sales revenues, which without the tariff change could hamper further development of the public transport.
The developing transport network and extensive investment plan constantly increase the public transport operating costs year by year.
The amount of money spent on public transport :
2008 – PLN 1,38 billion
2009 – PLN 1,55 billion
2010 – PLN 1,69 billion
2011 – PLN 2,04 billion
2012 – PLN 2,31 billion
In 2012, Warsaw will spend more money on transport than Kraków, Poznań, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Bydgoszcz, Lublin and a few other cities altogether.
The coverage of expenditure with use of ticket sales revenues:
2008 – 38,40 per cent
2009 – 36,95 per cent
2010 – 34,05 per cent
2011 – 30,80 per cent
2012 – 32,19 per cent
In comparison: Gdańsk – 46 per cent, Słupsk – 50 per cent, Kraków – 57 per cent, Lublin – 58 per cent, and Olsztyn – 60 per cent (data from 2011)
4. Rising energy prices: fuel and electricity, as well as the prices for the access to the track infrastructure.
5. Ticket prices in Warsaw in comparison with other European and Polish cities are low.
Although for the 30-day ticket in Prague we would have to pay as much as in Warsaw about PLN 90, but in Vienna it would be ca. PLN 182, in Riga ca. PLN 267, and in Berlin ca. PLN 312.
There is a great difference in the prices of 90-day tickets. In Warsaw, for a personalized ticket valid only in the first zone you have to pay PLN 220. In return, the passenger can travel “at will” in all day and night lines. In other big cities, the prices of such tickets are as follows: Poznań – PLN 282, Katowice – PLN 296, Cracow – PLN 276,40 (the price of the ticket bought for the first time, subsequent ticket costs PLN 261,70). However, if a passenger would like to buy such a ticket in Szczecin, he/she would have to pay PLN 422 for it.
It is also worth mentioning that in Warsaw the passenger having one ticket has almost unlimited opportunities of going around the city and the entire metropolitan area. There are buses, trams and metro cars and trains at their disposal. They can travel not only in the SKM trains, but – having an Integrated Ticket – in Koleje Mazowieckie and Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa trains (certain section only). In addition, in the area of the suburban communes local bus feeder lines operate and – as part of a special offer – Łomianki public transport. Thus, having the ticket one can freely go from Wołomin through Warsaw to Legionowo or from Stare Babice to Radzymin.
The ticket sale network becomes larger and larger on a monthly basis. The tickets are available at newsagents and post offices. There are already over 1000 encoding centers for the Warsaw City Card. Gradually, more and more ticket vending machines are installed in the capital and suburban towns. There are over 300 of them at the moment. The ticket machines also appear in the buses, trams and SKM trains. You can also buy tickets via mobile phones (time-limit and short-term tickets) and the Internet (long-term tickets). The tickets can also be encoded on the Student Electronic Card, Pupil Electronic Card and on the special Citi Handlowy payment card.
6. Warsaw has the largest fleet in Poland, which carries the biggest amount of passengers. More than 1500 buses, 780 trams, 192 metro vehicles and 20 SKM trains go to the streets of Warsaw every day. Daily transport amounts to over 2.5 million rides.
7. More money in the city purse means greater chances of receiving EU funds for the important investments. The revenues from the new tariff will help to design consecutive six stations of the second line of the metro. In 2013, the European Commission will decide which investments will get support within the 2014-2020 financial perspective. If the designs of the new stations are finished and the building permits are granted by then, this will significantly increase Warsaw’s chances of obtaining extra money.
If not the raise, then what?
The public transport without raising ticket prices is threatened by collapse. Reducing the cost of transport by ca. PLN 120 million (which is the estimated increase in revenues from ticket sales after the price adjustment) would cause the reduction of the number of operating vehicles in all types of the means of transport. This would mean reducing the number of operating trams by 29, which would mean the elimination of one line with a high frequency of running (for example, line 9) or 2 lines with an average frequency of running. At the same time, there would be 40 buses less on the streets, which would mean the elimination of 7 or 8 lines with an average frequency of running or 2 lines with a high frequency of running. At the same time, 15 metro vehicles would have to be withdrawn, which would result in a decrease in the number of seats by ca. 45,000 per day. Simultaneously, 3 SKM trains would have to be withdrawn, which, for example, would reduce the supply of seats by 45 per cent on the S1 line.
Failure to increase the ticket prices would also put into question the future of the Integrated Ticket (the special offer that allows the passengers to travel in Koleje Mazowieckie trains, Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa trains and local bus lines L-x), which this year costs ca. PLN 120 million.
Withdrawal from raising the ticket prices could also result in suspension of the preparation or implementation of transport investments, such as the previously mentioned design of consecutive six stations of the second line of the metro.
In the next article we will inform you more about the ZTM information campaign on the tariff change.
