Systemic transformation and changes in surface transport companies in Poland: A synthesis after twenty-five years

• Published in: Journal of transport geography 2018-06, Vol.70, p.114-122
• Main Authors: Taylor, Zbigniew, Ciechański, Ariel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bankruptcy; Commercialization; Corporate reorganization; Deregulation; Disintegration; FDI; Leasing; Logistics; Ownership; Passengers; Post-communist country; Private sector; Privatisation; Privatization; Railroads; Railways; Restructuring; Roads; Shipping; Shipping industry; Transport companies; Transportation industry; Urban transportation; Workers
• ISSN: 0966-6923; 1873-1236
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2018.05.016

The milestone of 25 years of political and economic transformation in a post-communist country offers a good occasion to sum up change processes in its transport sector. This paper thus seeks to reconstruct post-1989 organisational and ownership transformations in Poland’s rail-, road-, and urban-transport companies, as well as those involved in inland shipping. Where freight is concerned, carriage on standard- and broad-gauge railways can be evaluated as mostly deregulated. In turn, in relation to the carriage of passengers, all carriers existing up to mid-2005 had originated within the PKP (Polish State Railways) Group. The most common form of transformation in ownership of passenger carriers is communalisation of existing companies, with shares in the hands of regional authorities. The first private operator appeared as late as 2007 (the present-day Arriva in the province (voivodship) of Kujawsko-Pomorskie). The disintegration of the national road carrier (PKS) resulted in the founding of about 40 new freight-transport firms, the majority of which were closed down soon. Equally, in the case of the PKS passenger enterprises, the most common form of privatisation has involved leasing by workers. The privatisation occurring previously involved, not only Polish investors, but also foreign capital (Veolia, later taken over by Arriva, and the Israeli Egged Holding via its affiliate Mobilis). However, the share of public-capital ownership remains substantial, often resulting in final bankruptcy of road companies. Among the operators involved in urban transport, public ownership remains dominant in various forms (commercialised, communalised, or budgetary units). In contrast, small private firms dominate in inland shipping. Moreover, systemic transformation plus Poland’s EU accession have given rise to the conditions underpinning the emergence of Europe’s largest shipowners (OT Logistics, the former Odratrans Group).