The town of Cracow account 757  430 inhabitants according to the study undertaken in 2005. It accommodates many establishments of formation beyond the Baccalauréat; also, by counting its students, the true number of its inhabitants is of a million approximately. One then includes/understands the importance of an effective transport system public. Public transport (networks of the drunk and the Tram S) is managed and financed by the ZTP ( Zarząd Transportu Publicznego - Control of the transport public), and accomplished by the MPK ( Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne - municipal Company of transport). Such a division of competences will jointly allow in the future the introduction of the private operators into the grid system Cracovian (the first private operator go-T-being introduced as from month of April 2008. It will be Mobilis - which ensured until now part of the urban transport inter alia Warsaw and Bydgoszcz. It was selected in a request for offers.). In the near future one will be able to also expect that the network of the Train S of suburbs is integrated him also in the tariff system of public transport Cracovian.

Tram lines

The network of tram is vast and connects the majority of the districts with the center town. Its great advantage over the bus is to guarantee stable schedules of passages, allowing a realistic forecast of times of ways. One counts twenty-five normal lines of tram, numbered from 1 to 24, and then 34 and one additional line (n° 40). In the event of work, lines of replacement can be implemented; they are numbered from 70 to 79. During the festival of 750e birthday of the hiring of Cracow to the Droits of Magdeburg (1 June 10th, 2007) ZTP implemented the special lines of the evening numbered from 80 to 89. At the time of the All Saints' day, the exceptional surge travellers going to the Cemetery on the tombs of friends or parents is accommodated by a device complementary to special lines, numbered from 90 to 99.

The interval of passage of the trams is 10 minutes on the majority of the lines, and can be extended to 20 minutes apart from the rush hours. On certain lines, the cars spend only every 20 minutes.

The rail network of trams continues to develop. A fast line carrying out of Kurdwanów to Krowodrza Górka is thus in the course of construction. In the near future, the campus of the University Jagellonne and the district of Płaszów will be them also served.

Lines of bus

The network of bus supplements the network of trams.

• the usual lines, with regular circulation, are numbered from 100 to 199. The interval of passage of their buses varies from ten to twenty minutes; on certain lines, which connect the rural areas in the past attached administratively to Cracow, the buses more rarely circulate.
• the suburban lines connecting Cracow and the suburbs are numbered from 200 to 299.
• the numbers from 400 to 499 indicate the doubling lines (additional).
• the fast lines (of which the bus do not stop with each stop) change numbers between 500 to 599. In truth, only two lines of this type exist today (501 and 502).
• the buses of night change numbers between 600 to 699; these lines connect the distant districts (as well as the airport) with the center town. Their schedules are coordinated to facilitate the correspondence with the stop Dworzec Główny - Central station. The buses of these lines circulate every hour, even every half an hour the weekend on certain lines.
• Of the temporary lines, of replacement, is numbered from 700 to 799; they can be brought into service at the time of work.
• During All Saints' day, the special lines brought into service carry numbers between 900 and 999.
• Enfin, MPK places at the disposal of its employees services of buses which are reserved to them, numbered from 800 to 899; these buses are thus not opened with the transport of the users (their schedules nor the signs with their numbers are not even posted with the stops). It is to better add that the special lines of the evening (accessible for all), implemented during the festival of the 750e birthday of the hiring of the city, carried the same indications (they are lines 806 and 807).

The new type of service started the 14. July 2007. It is about the " Télébus" ( Telebus in Polish) - the flexible lines of bus of which the courses and the hours of passage vary according to the needs for the users which can order the buses thanks to a special phone line, exactly as if it were about a taxi. This service serves the area of Rybitwy which is characterized by a low density of dwelling and, in future, probably will be spread out with other districts of similar characteristics. The project of Télébus is carried out in co-operation with the Italian city of Genoa where it had been introduced for the first time. It falls under the projects of improvement of public transport within the framework of the European project Civitas Caravel.

Deposits and cars

Cracow counts two deposits of trams and three bus depots. MPK tries to standardize the car models in its deposits, in order to profit from economy of scale for their exploitation and maintenance.

Trams

The two deposits of trams are located at Nowa Huta and Podgórze; one like the other accommodate the cars Konstal 105Na - the model of the tram most widespread in Cracow, designed at the time of Communism and systematically renewed. These trams generally circulate with two cars; according to the frequentation of the lines, some use trams mono-car, while on the other hand, on the three lines the charged (4, the 13 and the 34) trams comprise three cars.

The deposit of Nowa Huta also accommodates second-hand cars, imported Nuremberg (model MAN GT6 and B4 ) and of Vienna (model Düwag E1 and C3 ). Maintaining the MPK is also acquiring second-hand cars (model MAN N8S-NF, having a part with flattened floor) coming from Nuremberg which are successively placed at the deposit of Nowa Huta.

The deposit of Podgórze is receiving the third delivery of the new trams Bombardier Flexity Classic (NGT6), which will lead in 2008 to a full number of fifty oars.

Bus

Side drunk, the deposit of Bieńczyce gathers the models been driven by engines MAN and DAF, the deposit of Płaszów gathers the buses produced by Scania and the deposit of Wola Duchacka as well as gathers the buses been driven by engine Mercedes-Benz the buses which run to gas.

The park in detail:

In all, Cracow has 85,2% of bus with flattened floor and only 14,8% of bus HF ( high floor ). One can thus conclude that the transport system public in Cracow effective, is adapted to the needs for the users, even handicapped. All drunk them produced by Ikarus were withdrawn in September 2007.

Tickets

The user will be able to buy tickets MPK in very many sales outlets: it will be enough to seek a small kiosk multi-service in the vicinity immediate of the stop. The driver can also deliver the ticket to him, against a light supplement. The user can freely buy the exact number of tickets wished: those are not gathered by notebooks. These tickets are valid as well on the tram as in the bus. In Cracow one distinguishes two tariff zones: the urban area (that wants to say: any Cracow will intra muros more Wieliczka, Brzegi and the airport) and the suburban zone (served by the numbered lines from 200 to 299).

Beyond the usual distinction between full price and cheap rate, the tickets can also be selected according to their period of validity:

• usable once, it will be necessary to perforate a second ticket in the event of correspondence; these tickets cost 2,50 zł in full price;
• usable during 1:00, it is possible to carry out the unlimited number of the correspondences (inter alia one can carry out a return ticket, which differentiates this ticket from the Parisian ticket t+), as from the first composting; these tickets cost 3,10 zł in full price;
• usable during 24:00, 48h, or 72h, their principle remains identical;
• finally, of the subscriptions makes it possible to profit in a quite less cost from public transport from Cracow.

The Line-Museum of Cracow

Since 2003, thanks to the Line-Museum of Cracow (KLM - Krakowska Linia Muzealna), the amateurs of old trams have the possibility of accomplishing the voyages on board the oars which were withdrawn from service. These cars carry out the ways each Sunday during school vacations, and are accessible to everyone according to the usual tariff from public transport. Among the cars which can be seen on this line, models designed into 1925,1950 and 1970 ago. Exceptionally, tram SN1 produced in 1912 fact also its appearance.

References

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