Krakow

Basic information

Name of the public transport authority: Public Transport Authority in Kraków (ZTP)

Name of the PTA in local language: Zarząd Transportu Publicznego w Krakowie (ZTP)

Geographical area: ZTP is responsible for organising, supervising and conducting all matters related to public transport within the territory of the Municipality of Kraków and 19 neighbouring municipalities in accordance with the agreements concluded.

Inhabitants in the PTA area: 1.2 million

Responsibilities

Ticketing:

ZTP is responsible for ticket sales and control. Tickets are sold in ticket machines at stops and onboard the vehicles, in ticket offices, and mobile apps.

Procurement:

Currently, there are two operators in Kraków: MPK Kraków and Mobilis. MPK is the city-owned company and services are directly awarded: bus services for 10 years and tram services for 16 years. With Mobilis, bus services are tendered as an open market for 10 years (the next contract will start in autumn 2024).

Rolling stock and depot ownership:

The operators own the rolling stock and the depots.

Public transport planning:

ZTP is responsible for planning the service level, including route planning and timetable schemes, but detailed timetables are prepared by the communal operator, based on a separate contract.

Development of mobility policy / Transport system planning:

ZTP is involved in developing the sustainable urban mobility plan (SUMP) and the mobility policy but is not responsible for it. Our scope of action beyond public transport includes: maintenance and development of the urban bicycle system, implementation of municipal policies on behalf of the Municipality of Kraków in the field of cycling, walking and personal transport devices, e.g. e-scooters, managing the development of paid parking zones within the territory of the Municipality of Kraków, implementation of tasks related to the development of the City Wayfinding System, management of the Park and Ride system and implementation of the Low Emission Zone in Kraków.

Marketing of public transport:

ZTP use social media to inform citizens about public transport. We are also involved in municipality events to promote our actions and public transport image. Our biggest operator MPK also promotes public transport through open days in depots, or special events for children and seniors.

Passenger information:

ZTP is responsible for managing and maintaining information about public transport for direct passenger service, on information displays, for example. ZTP shares data about the vehicle locations with all third parties who want to make use of it.

Organisational model

Organisational unit in the municipality

ZTP is an organisational unit of the Municipality of Kraków established by Resolution No. CVIII/2810/18 of the Kraków City Council of 29 August 2018 on the establishment and approval of the statute of the budgetary unit Public Transport Authority in Kraków. The overarching decision-making body for ZTP is the Mayor of the City of Kraków.

Transport service contracting

Procured by the PTA: urban buses, regional buses within the PTA, trams, TELEBUS (demand-responsive transport, a service based on small buses in the Rybitwy area of Kraków)

Not procured by the PTA, but most/all services accept PTA tickets: commuter trains, regional trains

Current developments

As of 2024:

ZTP aims to manage the mobility of everyone by creating effective solutions to facilitate efficient and safe travel around the city. ZTP is also taking measures to make travelling more comfortable and reduce nuisances (such as noise and pollution) related to the impact of urban transport on the surroundings. In the coming years, we plan to introduce a new ticketing system (MTT), develop a bus line system in areas without public transport, launch a central control room for public transport vehicles and launch a DRT system as part of the EU SUM project.