A tram to Wilanów

I took a photo coverage of tramway to Miasteczko Wilanów under construction once, in September 2023. The urban rail link to a housing estate built from scratch in the twenty-first century, being a symbol of new-rich self-styled elite and the biggest cluster of anti-PiS voters in Poland, has been one of the flagship investments in transport infrastructure in the capital of Poland.

The two years when it was under construction were a major ordeal for everyone living along it. It had been scheduled to be opened at the beginning of September 2024, yet after a customary delay, tram services were launched without ribbon-cutting on 29 October 2024.

Given the workload, the necessity to spend times of exercising to recover, the short day and other excuses, I had no opportunity to spot the tram in Wilanów, hence no snaps with time.

Wilanów is now connected to central Warsaw with two tram lines, numbered 14 an 16. The latter connects the district with Metro Świętokrzyska, one underground station away from where my office is located. To reach the office at 8:30 a.m., I need to leave home at 7:47 a.m. If I lived in a distance of a five-minute walk to a middle stop in Wilanów, i.e. Świątynia Opatrzności Bożej and if I gave myself a two-minute headroom for reaching the tram stop, I would need to leave home approximately at 7:40 a.m. This means the commute is just less horrible than it used to be.

Lack of decent transport links is one of many reasons I have never been fond of Wilanów and haver never considered taking up residency there. Back in 2012 one could easily buy a brand-new unfinished flat from a property developer for below PLN 7,000 per sqm, while Ursynów was 10% more expensive. Today Ursynów is some 10% cheaper than the neighbouring district.

While a tram remains superior to a bus, given the current infrastructure, it is by no means a truly fast alternative, unless there is no bus lane. Its movement is hampered by numerous traffic lights, albeit it should be given priority over passenger cars. Besides, stops are scattered quite densely (which is not a drawback in general terms); consequently speed of a tram journey drops well below 20 kmph.

Despite some complaints above, I appreciate the new tram route and hope it cuts down on the traffic congestion and air pollution in the capital.

Off for some belated holidays in the Polish mountains over the next two weekends, hence the next post due on 24 November. Will I kick off writing a regular winter timeline by then?

A tram to Wilanów

Railway public transport, given all circumstances, is a future of modern cities. Warsaw finishes construction of its second underground line, but in the recent quarters focused much on developing a network of overground rail connections. One of such links is the tram track running to the posh district of Wilanów.

Frankly speaking, I have never understood why the location was so desirable among the capital’s middle class. The estate is reasonably good-looking, however buildings are too close to one another and the commute to the city centre, regardless of means of transport used, takes currently around an hour. For a comparison, a door-to-door journey to Rondo Dmowskiego from my dwelling takes some 35 minutes.

Nevertheless, the classy housing estate occupies swathes of land which 30 years ago were endless meadows. Needless to say infrastructure lagged behind residential developments. The city authorities for years had promised a tram connection and a few quarters ago the plans began turning into reality.

On 11 September, having knocked off relatively early (i.e. not doing overtime) I jumped on my bike and cycled to the neighbouring district to inspect the progress of work. As I was leaving home, temperature was still above +25C. More on the remarkable September heat next week.

Ursynów has great cycling infrastructure, so without having to use a pavement nor a road, I reach the intersection of al. Rzecz-pospolitej and ul. Branickiego. Preparatory works have begun here, but I see no track of a future terminues, which most likely will be located next to Medicover hospital at the southern end of al. Rzeczpospolitej.

For the period of construction, al. Rzecz-pospolitej has lost the status of a dual carriageway and has been narrowed to one lane in each direction. One can make out tram tracks will run between the southbound and the northbound road.

Somewhat closer to al. Wilanowska, there are sections where tracks have been already laid. Note the façade of a typical residential building, with shops on ground level. Currently, Wilanów is virtually self-sufficient, with facilities meeting needs of the upper-middle class located next to the district’s throughfares.

I pass the dug-up intersection of al. Wilanowska and ul. Sobieskiego, glad I do not have to cross this area regularly. Ul. Sobieskiego, once having three lanes in each direction, then two regular lanes and a bus lane, currently has only one lane per direction. Oddly enough during late rush hour on a school day the traffic jams were not heavy, while traffic on a cycling path running parallel to the street was quite dense.

Approaching ul. Bonifacego in Stegny, I realise the progress of works is very uneven and wonder what is behind the difference in pace of construction on different sections. Note a family in front of me – good to see parents teach children to move in a healthy and environment-friendly manner.

The last shot taken from the intersection of ul. Sobieskiego and ul. Bonifacego. Staring at the skyline of Warsaw’s skyscrapers and a pedestrian footpath above ul. Sobieskiego. Warsaw slowly gives up on them and on underground passages, as convenience of motorists is no longer a priority. The elderly, disabled, parents with prams – they should soon have the obstacles in moving around removed altogether.

Urban cycling

I have been an active bicycle user for several years - I have used it for leisure, doing sports, socialising (trips of 20 - 80 kilometres with fellow lads and girlfriends), tourism, for moving around Ursynów (or Wisła) or dropping visits to my parents or friends, but never, ever for commuting.

In late May I resolved to try using a bicycle for work-related moving around. First ride - to a client whose office is at the far end of ul. Poleczki, some 5.2 kilometres from home. Too short distance to go by car, too long to take 504 bus and then change it to 148 service, on top due to harsh cost savings, I am not allowed to claim a taxi bill reimbursed. Outcome - I put on a suit and cycle there on my mountain bike. The travel duration was fine - 20 minutes, but in a suit I did not feel comfortable. The temperature then was not particularly high (close to +20C), but the air was humid and on my way home I slightly broke sweat.

Two days later, I took a trip to the office (14 kilometres), that time in casual clothes. I usually have to take a notebook (unless it stays in the office for a few days in a row), packed lunches and some personal stuff. I had to pack it all into a rucksack, which was a bit of heavy and contributed to a stain of sweat on my back (bike bags or a solid handlebar basket could have been a fix for it). Since there is no cycling path along al. Niepodległości, I comfortably cycled along ul. Pileckiego and then ul. Puławska up to the intersection with ul. Dolna where the cycling path ends. The route from there towards Rondo ONZ is a bit of a nuisance, there are few sections of cycling path, while meandering past narrow streets of Mokotów with dense traffic is not a pleasure. Door-to-door ride duration: 1 hour and 5 minutes, some 20 - 25 minutes longer than by public transport, which gives additional 45 minutes per day spent on commuting, but also on physical exercise.

Cycling to work has some limitations, especially pertaining to weather and outfit (casual clothes are much more suitable). Not breaking sweat is possible, yet at the expense of slow pace.

I could definitely consider cycling as attractive commuting option on distances below 5 miles / 8 kilometres and with proper infrastructure (inadequate network of cycling paths in northern Mokotów / southern Śródmieście is a shame). 

For a while bycicle sticks to its previous role, since in mid-June I purchased a 3-month travelcard whose price has not gone up simce 10 years (PLN 250 for 90 days of unlimited riding in Warsaw and around is dirt cheap). I have learnt being a passenger allows me to focus on some down-to-earth stuff via smartphone when moving. Having said that I confess this is the first post I have written using the phone only, during two underground journeys! A shame time has become such a scarce commodity.

By car? Why?

When choosing a property to buy (I consider a purchase to meet one’s own housing needs) one of primary factors taken into consideration is a location. A prime place to reside in, apart from unmeasurable factors which boil down a spirit of the place and features of a specific dwelling, such as layout, storey, amenities, must be well-located.

Why have I chosen to live a particular part of Ursynów? Not just my fondness of the district and its distinguishing climate, but practical reasons. Needless to say I spend just a fraction of non-sleep time at home, but I get about regularly to specific places.

To work – regular route covered back and forth usually five times a week. My dwelling is just less than a kilometre from the entrance to an underground station, which gives an opportunity to have two short walks, one in the morning, one in the afternoon. The door-to-door journey takes me on average 45 minutes, assuming I march to or from the underground station. If I am in a hurry or carry a laptop and a bag with packed lunches for two consecutive days, two bus lines: 179 and 192 can take me the underground and save my time. The underground trains, unless somebody attempts to commit suicide or leaves unattended luggage, are the most reliable and quick form of public transport in Warsaw. My goal of not being car-dependent in terms of commuting to work has been attained. Since moving in, I drove to work once, to bring a table delivered by a courier to my office. The door-to-door journey in each direction lasted 50 minutes…

To do the grocery shopping – three or four times a week. Lidl, being my primary discount shop where I stock up in basis stuff is less than 100 metres from my door; for no apparent reason some of my neighbours drive there to do the shopping… Biedronka where I reluctantly venture to hunt “second item cheaper” bargains is next to Metro Stokłosy, so I can pop by there on my way from work. Auchan where I shop around once a week is nearly 3 kilometres away and sadly there is no direct bus connection there. I can walk to the shop, but lugging a heavy bag with my spine is a no good idea… I take then 179 bus and change it for 504 near Multikino. Tesco Kabaty is available by 179 bus, yet I dislike the hypermarket, its layout, plus its pricing policy is inferior to Auchan, Lidl and Biedronka...

To visit my parents – once or twice a week, 9 kilometres by car (which is the shortest distance I happen to drive if I sit behind the wheel) or 7 kilometres by bike, weather and circumstances permitting. Close enough to pay them a late afternoon visit, if I don’t feel like putting in calling on them into my weekend agenda and sufficiently close if at emergency (they are getting older so such factors needs to be taken into account). But going to Nowa Iwiczna by public transport means a door-to-door journey no shorter than fifty minutes (compare it to 20 minutes by car in non-peak hours or 25 minutes by bike) and this shortest journey involves a three-kilometre walk through Las Kabacki… I have never tried it and do not intend to try.

To the swimming pool – located roughly a mile from my house, I get there by 504 bus. I laugh at people who drive 2 kilometres to a gym to have some exercise…

I generally do not understand why so many locals drive around Ursynów, especially since the district is nearly constantly jammed because of the ongoing construction of Warsaw’s Southern Bypass. Since moving in I have used the car for mid- and long-distance journeys. The car sits idle on average on 3 out of 4 days (nearly 3,000 kilometres covered over 3 months) and used only when it is far more convenient way of moving around than public transport or a bike.

Would I consider selling the car and switching to car sharing or car rental then? In a week I will present to you a number-backed analysis with detailed assumption which would answer the question whether with my car usage patterns it makes economic sense to own the car. I will compare the total cost of ownership to costs of hiring a car for long-distance journeys a few times a year and switching to car-sharing for mid-distance trips around Warsaw and its suburbs.

Still room for improvement

I have decided to put back publishing update on the remont front, until even bigger progress across the entire dwelling is witnessed, which I expect to come about by 27 January. Today I could only post the snaps of tiles laid in the bathroom and in the toilet. A noticeable progress, yet insufficient to assert the flat has taken its final shape.

On Wednesday I (unexpectedly) had a one-day foray in business to Kraków. After nearly a decade of working I am no longer fond of business travels, which in over 90% are a one-day tiresome trips with no time for sightseeing or enjoying the places I visit for more than one minute (this year I was lucky enough once, in Wrocław).

I got to Kraks by most convenient possible means of transport, i.e. by train. By timetable, the service between Warszawa and Kraków covers the 298-kilometre route in less than two hours and thirty minutes (beating the plane connection given boarding time and distance from the airport to the city centre), plus the station in Kraków was in the vicinity to my destination.

On my way to Kraks I sat back in a regular EIC train, with a notebook on my laps, to catch up with several minor overdue tasks. After less than an hour of the journey the carriage attendant came over to serve beverages. I asked for a coffee… Fortunately, they do not serve ready coffee or tea, but give out ingredients to passengers so that they brew it on their own. I found that peculiarity a nuisance, but on Wednesday PKP Intercity’s serving policy saved me. As the attendant was trying to hand me a mug with hot (fortunately not scalding) water, the train lurched and he spilled the water on my trousers (around my knees, not the crotch!) and the laptop. He callously uttered a simple “przepraszam” and carried on serving beverages. I was too focused on analysing how big the stain was and whether it would disappear by the time I meet the client and whether my notebook was anyhow damaged to react properly. Accidents will happen and I do not blame the attendant for harming me, such things happen, but I kick myself for not rebuking him over his disregard. My carriage was occupied in less than 50% and I doubt any of the fellow passengers noticed the incident and could react anyhow. Luckily, the water spot has left no trace on my suit trousers, nor is my company notebook damaged, but the bad taste remains…

On my way back I took a pendolino train, I lucked upon the only one in which wi-fi tests are carried out. And here, an endless gripe towards PKP Intercity for buying the overpriced no-frill trains from a foreign manufacturer (I believe Newag could have built the “premium” trains in a consortium with a more experienced partner). Why the hell they have bought tins in which mobile network signal is muffled so that normal phone conversations are disrupted and internet connection is at times too slow to use Messenger! Premium, fast trains connecting major cities in Poland should seemingly be targeted at corporate workers, some of whom like me: firstly, cannot use unprotected wi-fi networks, because firewalls or whatever other shits installed thereon protect them from doing so, secondly, have all resources to work on kept away from the hard drive so in offline mode their laptops are useless. Consequently I wasted over two hours and forty minutes in the train, as I could not work on my way to Warsaw!

Besides, the train came to Warsaw with a delay of fifteen minutes. Not a major fault, yet I bothered to keep checking punctuality of my service at Infopasażer (page was loading or refreshing for more than minute each time) and according it, my train was arriving to W-wa Centralna according to a timetable. Propaganda of success? Nobody’s perfect, but why misinforming?

Next time I will also take train if I go to Kraks, but I can’t wait to see trains as the primary vehicle of choice when travelling to all major cities in Poland. Currently Gdansk, Katowice (and the entire Górny Śląsk) are the only destinations where trains are preferable. To Szczecin and Rzeszów flights are a must, while everywhere else (predominantly to Poznań and Wrocław) I get by car, since in door-to-door travel duration, it still keeps being the fastest, though not the safest and not the most ecological…

Accidents will happen

I have held the driving licence for 10 years, I have used a car on a daily basis for five years on; the two last years were the period of more intense business travels, taken also by car, my own old Megane or company cars, meaning over the last two years I covered around 35,000 kilometres behind the wheel; on top of another 35,000 kilometres driven over previous eight years.

Driving instructors argue a typical driver has an accident during their first equator’s length (roughly 40,000 kilometres) of driving. Over that time I had one minor traffic collision, oddly enough not impacting my insurance track record, besides since October 2012 my track record behind the wheel has been impeccable, except for scratching right-rear wing in five weeks ago. I rubbed against a lamp post while parking parallel.

I varnished the eye-popping aftermaths of my haste and inattention, yet the scrape slightly dented my self-confidence, which after all should do more harm than good. Lesson learnt – I should be more cautious. Nevertheless, I did not change my mind and did not find driving on Polish roads dangerous, until last seven days, when I nearly had three serious accidents, none I would have been guilty of, yet they could have ended up with serious injuries.

Last Sunday on ul. Słowackiego (Warszawa Żoliborz), I changed lanes from right to middle and noticed an iffy driver in Honda City on left lane. I somehow foresaw he was an unpredictable motorist and braced for his manoeuvre of changing lanes from left to middle nearly ending in hitting the side of my car. Having cars on both sides, but no vehicle behind me, I pushed the brake to the floor and avoided the collision. Fortunately my passengers kept a cool head and did not scream (I still remember the attack of panic of my three female colleagues in November 2015, when somewhere between Płońsk and Sierpc our car was hit by an ice slab flying off the roof of a truck ahead of us (no damage to the vehicle to my surprise)).

On Wednesday as I drove up ul. Puławska, I nearly fell victim to kinked lanes and foolish driver on the intersection with Baletowa. He followed the swinging lanes before the intersection but behind it he drove straight ahead, cutting in on me, moving properly up the right lane. I swerved into the lane for buses marked out before intersection with ul. Pelikanów, thus avoiding bumping into meathead-driven Mazda 6.

The most scary narrow escape struck me the next day. I was on the slip road from Dolinka Służewiecka (westbound lanes) into ul. Puławska (southbound lanes). I spotted a ZTM bus running at the lane west of the viaduct carrying the traffic from ul. Puławska into Dolinka Służewiecka, but glimpsing to the left I failed to notice its driver was speeding (70 kmph) while I did at around 45 kmph. Where the slip road and the right-most lane of ul. Puławska met, he immediately began changing lanes into mine, not minding I was there and. to make it worse, not minding there was a cyclist (cyclists should be prohibited from riding such roads and she should have safety cycled down the pavement on the other side of ul. Puławska!) on the same (mine) lane. The presence of the cyclist (still wonder whether she realised what was going on, since she seemed to be totally unaware how dangerous the situation was) left me fewer room to move rightwards, while an idiot in BMW just behind my rear bumper left little room for abrupt braking. I slowed down gently, trying to keep minimum 20 centimetres from the bus side and the cyclist and managed. Only with hindsight I realised what near miss it was.

It occurred to me it would have been safer to travel by bus. The next day while driving towards Park and Ride Metro Ursynów I drove 75 kmph and kept a steady distance from a 331 bus. Indeed, both bus driver and I were speeding, however the difference in magnitude of our sins that I would stop my car (including time to reaction and stopping distance) within 50 metres and fastened belts would protect me, while the bus driver would probably stop after more than 100 metres and many passengers would be injured. In retrospect, I regret not having reported that incident to ZTM.

Speed and alcohol rank among the most frequent accident causes in Poland, yet the list should be supplemented with other sins of drivers, seldom mentioned…

Firstly, not looking around. Wing mirrors and rear view mirror help the driver control situation around them. If you know what is going on around, you immediately know whether you can swerve (this facilitates controlling the blind spot as well) or suddenly brake. Looking around involves also watching out for vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians or animals that might trespass onto the road.

Secondly, not foreseeing. As one gains experience behind the wheel, more situations become predictable and consequently, accidents avoided.

Thirdly, pushing one’s luck. Sounds ridiculously, but several drivers count they will make it (finish overtaking by forcing other drivers to brake or swerve, violating the right of way by assessing another driver will skim on their brakes to avoid a collision etc.). Even in 99% instances it works, the remaining 1% results in increased number or casualties and fatalities on Polish roads.

Fourthly, not keeping proper distance. The reasons why rear-endings are so common are not just speed or lapses of concentration. The dire effects of the above would not lead to so many incidences of bumping into rear of a car ahead, had the proper distance been kept.

Fifthly, tiredness. Fatigued, drowsy drivers can display similar reactions as intoxicated drivers. I should also tack on over-using mobile phones when behind the wheel as fumbling with them also worsen drivers’ concentration.

Sixthly, technical condition of vehicles on Polish roads. I do not want to gripe about the average age of vehicles on Polish roads, declining, yet still above eleven years. I have a 13-year-old car and I take care of it to ensure travelling by it is safe. Poles drive what they afford to but the owner or user is always to blame. Nearly brand-new (aged less than 3Y) vehicles from corporate fleets, if they are not looked after properly (believe me or not, 3Y post-lease cars are frequently rickety bangers), are in far worse technical condition that my car.

And #7, cyclists and pedestrians ignorant of perils in traffic or even traffic rules. Starry-eyed traffic participants not realising if they have right of way, for the sake of their own safety they should not exercise it at all cost and that fault of a car driver is not an excuse. What I hold most against cyclists is: (1) riding on fast-traffic roads (speed limits at or above 70 kmph), (2) choosing to take a road, where there is a decent cycling path running parallel to the road, (3) not sticking to the right thus hindering overtaking. What I hold most against pedestrians is that they (1) can stand (or hang around) next to a pedestrian crossing with no intention to cross a street, (2) cross streets where they are not allowed to without even looking whether a vehicle is going to smash them into pulp.

I have mulled over installing a dashboard camera in my next car, not for the purpose Russians put them up (to prove they are not guilty of an accident) but to keep record of on-going horror on the Polish roads. So far, I keep up with Polskie Drogi channel on YouTube and hold it dear. Watching the compilations of accidents helps me learn from others’ mistakes, adds to my experience and enhances my predictive skills. The scenes by Polskie Drogi often prove many accidents could have been averted, had somebody thought beforehand or foreseen other traffic participants’ crass stupidity.

Dangers on the road must not be shrugged off, yet this is the risk one should manage. Driving cautiously does not guarantee you will return safe and sound from every journey, yet minimises the chances of having an accident.

M2

Just for the record – quite possibly today morning we witnessed the last gasp of winter in Warsaw. After several days of spring-like weather, last night brought frost and light dusting of snow. Skies cleared up around 8 a.m. and all the snow disappeared by midday. Next week temperature is foreseen to shoot up to nearly +20C. Roll on spring!

Again, a belated post, partly compiled almost two weeks ago, shortly after the opening of the second underground line, slightly updated and extended today.

Making it ot the anything but grand opening of the second underground line two weeks ago was out of question, so I tried it out the next day, on Monday morning. I was not the only one to document (photos by Szajsung) the first ride – see a much broader coverage by Michael (the fellow blogger visited all stations east of Świętokrzyska).

To the right – one of passages between the first and the second line on Świętokrzyska station. When first using this link, I was unaware of the existence of another far more convenient passage between the lines, which is faster, does not require passengers to go through ticket gates and on top is well-hidden. Despite this one flaw, I have to admit generally the signage is up to the mark in the stations of second underground line.

I took a train to the western end of the line, to Rondo Daszyńskiego station. This formerly industrial part of Warsaw is rapidly turning into a business district with hundreds thousands square metres of office space in use and under construction. The underground trains will definitely facilitate transport for thousand of corpo-workers having to get here and from here, making it much friendlier location to work than ghastly Służewiec Przemysłowy. I took the snap just from the entrance to the station, however to properly depict the modern office-districts landscape, I should have taken the photo from the south-eastern corner of Rondo Daszyńskiego.

The east-bound carriages running in the morning from Rondo Daszyńskiego were nearly empty. It does not imply that second underground line runs idle. According to recently published statistics its trains carry on average 106,701 passengers per day (vs. roughly half a million taking the first, much longer line). Besides, it takes time before passengers change their habits and get convinced to the fastest possible way of moving around town.

As pointed up by many, on the first working day most escalators on newly opened Rondo ONZ station were broken down. True, this was a nuisance, however technical crews swiftly mended the machinery and during the subsequent two weeks I did not notice a single technical defect. When it comes to technicalities, I also noticed many passengers encountered problems handling new glass-made ticket gates (seemingly so simple to use). Fortunately, the transport authority envisaged such situations and sent several assistants to help passengers find their way in newly opened facilities. I only wonder how long before the more complicated gates begin to pack up since their technical complexity and thus potential for defects is much higher than in old gates on first line stations.

To the right – view towards the station entrance to the station, photo taken in the vicinity of Rondo ONZ. For many corpo-workers keeping late hours in Rondo 1 and other nearby office buildings the underground trains should mean commuting improvement. From my perspective, the time saved thanks to it is less than five minutes. Compared to the previous route, i.e. taking a tram between Metro Pole Mokotowskie and Rondo ONZ (six stops), riding the underground does not requite waiting on the traffic light to cross two streets on Rondo ONZ, moreover the underground is not halted by traffic lights on intersections along the way. Having to swing east and change trains, rather than moving slower, but straight ahead, takes the gloss of smoother rides by underground. I will defnitely appreciate the underground during inclement or extreme weather. Taking a shelter will be preferable to being exposed to over +25C heat, less than -10C chill, downpours or heavy snow.

Now looking forward to opening the rebuilt park and ride facility near Metro Stokłosy. The huge car park for almost 400 cars, 100 bikes and bus terminus have been finished a few weeks ago and since then have been waiting for better days, fenced off from hundreds of potential users. In early February I ventured there to see the development had been completed and asked a security guard whether he knew the opening date. He only shrugged his shoulders and shared my discontent with the fact no one can use the new car park. From what I heard on the radio last week, the general contractor is to put all finishing touches and fix minor glitches by the end of March and then technical inspections are to set about. Feasible opening date – second week of April (the one after Easter.)

Straten boven de tweede metrolijn geopend

On Tuesday morning, as I sauntered from the Świętokrzyska underground station to the office along ul. Świętokrzyska, watching construction crews bustling about to tidy up the unfinished street to meet the opening deadline of the turn of October, I said to myself “If they’re going to the works and open the street tonight, I’m a Dutchman”. The upshot of my unbefitting doubts is reflected in the title of the post… (credit to Google Translate)

On Tuesday late afternoon works were in overdrive, it seemed the general contractor was determined to bend over backwards and finish off by the end of September… On Wednesday morning I learnt online the streets above the central section of the second underground line had been opened. To the right – what I beheld as I emerged from underground. Doesn’t look spick and span, but it has been opened – the intersection ul. Marszałkowska and ul. Świętokrzyska.

As I march west, the sight of flowerpots, benches, cycling path and the very road, narrowed down to two lanes, gives ample evidence the development has been finished in haste. Looks nice, but lacks freshness it should exude… The opening could have been delayed by a few days to polish all the stuff up.

I approach ul. Emilii Plater and decide to snap (this time the regular camera is employed) part of Warsaw’s skyline; looking from the left: Żagiel (one of symbols of construction boom in Warsaw, under construction since 2007, after many tribulations, including suspension of works for over a year and finally termination of loan for the investor by Bank Pekao S.A. in late winter 2014; following the default the building was sold to another investor, however future dwellers, some of who paid tens of zlotys for each square metre of their apartments, still cannot move in as the occupancy permit has not been issued), Intercontinental Warsaw (I once went to a café there), Warsaw Financial Centre and beyond it, Rondo 1.

At Rondo ONZ it turns out traffic light are switched off, causing chaos on the roundabout. In the foreground – cycling paths. While looking at arrangement of cycling paths and how they cross pedestrians areas, it occurred to me at some places layout could have been more wisely designed. As the letter to weekend edition of Gazeta Stołeczna shows, I’m not the only one to have reached such conclusion.

And for the record, almost the same place in July 2011, construction site fenced off, long way before life returns to that place and changes its face.

West beyond Rondo ONZ, ul. Prosta has been broadened to three lanes in each direction. Prior to underground construction, this section of ul. Prosta has been a bottleneck. Now, after rearranging the historical Norblin factory, the street deserves a status of regular thoroughfare, as it goes further behind Rondo Daszyńskiego.

Again for the record – the very bottleneck in November 2011. A gloomy, dejecting picture, with hindsight filling one with hopes for a brighter future; the future that has become the present.

And another snap from November 2011, taken at the very end of the central section, where construction works began in September 2010. Now Żagiel (in the background, surrounded by cranes, under construction) is almost finished, where building machines stood, now is a wide dual carriageway.

For me the just opened streets bring little benefit in terms of improving my ways of moving around Warsaw, but for many residents of Warsaw it may signal the intense public infrastructure development programme, inconvenient for many of them, is drawing to a close. No doubt, the worst is over and effects are visible. I sense HGW will be elected for the third term as Warsaw’s mayor. Far from being a perfect host of the city, her pursuit of ‘lukewarm water in the tap’ policy is quite successful…

Directions for public transport…

Last Monday was just another annual car-free day, when traffic in Warsaw was denser than usual. The possibility to take the public transport free of charge proved insufficient to induce inhabitants of Warsaw agglomeration to give up on moving around by car for that one day. I must plead I also weighed up going by bus to the underground line, but I woke up to the sight of pouring rain, the prospect of walking to the bus stop between numerous puddles has effectively put me off the idea. With some shame I also plead not to regret my decision. The traffic jam up ul. Puławska was so solid that the journey to Metro Wilanowska would have taken damn long, while in my depreciating tin I took a detour via Jeziorki, passing by the most clogged up section between ul. Karczunkowska and ul. Ludwinowska.

Over the weekend preceding the car-free day, public transport days were held. Authorities from Warsaw town hall and local public transport companies have prepared several attractions to convince some of the car-ridden sods to switch to public transport. One of such events was the train trip from Warszawa Zachodnia to Siekierki power and heating plant, through the so-called ‘coal line’, running from sidings at Okęcie, via Nowa Iwiczna, Piaseczno, Julianów, Kierszek, Konstancin, up to Siekierki. A noteworthy coverage can be found on W-wa Jeziorki. Sadly, I ran across the info on planned trips on Sunday morning when it was too late both to sign up and to reschedule my day order. The only option I had was to spot the train passing by near my house…

The venue – level crossing on ul. Mleczarska, marking the border between Piaseczno and Stara Iwiczna. The place once documented here. After over 5 years little has changed in the place. Councillors from Piaseczno have been planning to modernise ul. Mleczarska for years, yet the planning phase has lasted too long and no visible effects are observable. I heard it on the grapevine the renovation is to commence in spring next year…

The train was scheduled to pass Nowa Iwiczna around 2:10 p.m. It turned up with 25-minute delay. The sight of passenger train occupied only by coal trains is rare enough to deserve to be captured.

Koleje Mazowieckie had little choice in terms of what type of vehicle to put up for the trip, given the coal line is not electrified. This one set of the carriages is propelled by a diesel engine, hence is less eco than its counterparts running on electricity…

The train getting closer. This the first time I try out the camera in the corpo-smartphone. My private phone is Nokia 3110 Classic I’ve had since early 2008 and as long as it stays reliable, don’t feel like swapping it for a state-of-the-art phone, but I begin to discover the potential of Szajsung. The camera is up-to-the-standard, not much worse than in my compact Olympus…

As the carriages pass by, there is one other anorak (not visible on the photo), capturing the train with much more professional equipment. He turned up seconds before train came, quite probably after chasing the train from previous place of photographing…

The very idea of a trip was commendable, but putting into operation regular services running between W-wa Służewiec and Piaseczno / Julianów / Konstancin is a daydream… (Michael contends it could be a fixed for problems of commuters from those southern suburbs) I do not see it practicable for the following reasons:

1. The coal line has only one track what means the service would be a shuttle train, running back and forth between W-wa Służewiec and Konstancin.

2. The line is not electrified what means rail cars would either had to have diesel engines or it would take extra CAPEX to put up posts and wires (apart from building platforms, etc.)

3. The line was built in 1930s and since then has not undergone a thorough modernisation what means trains can run no faster than 36 kmph and implying one (or at best two) train running during rush hours which does not solve the problem of congested ul. Puławska.

4. The same line is in the winter heavily used by coal trains which run several times a day when demand for electricity and heat is the highest. Sharing one track with a passenger service is hardly imaginable…

But local election draws near, so any type of bait for voters might come in handy…

What really has to be pondered upon by folks responsible for public transport is what has to be done to persuade car-ridden commuters to use public transport. It does not take simple measures applied so far, i.e. financial incentives and disincentives. It takes a change in mindsets of the car-ridden to pull them out of their cars and to do this, someone must understand why they claim they will not give up on cars. The most often mentioned reasons are:

1. “My own car is more convenient” – sometimes the argument is hard to disprove since sometimes people travel tinned like sardines, but in general the standard of public transport has been significantly raised in the recent years. Compared to time when I commuted to high school, a huge stride has been made. Travelling by public vehicles is stress-free which I see as a big advantage. I just hop in and out, not having to worry about finding a place to park, parking meters, etc.

2. “Moving by my own car is much faster” – except for city centre, in Warsaw it is in many cases true. If I leave the car at P&R Ursynów, it takes me less than an hour to get to and from work. Late in the evening the time saving is greated and so is the comfort of not having to wait for a bus to pull out from terminus is… My journey from home to P&R takes as long as a walk to the bus stop and waiting for a bus… Not to miss a walk, I stroll between the office and the underground station which is around one kilometre.

3. “Try dropping children to school and handling some more stuff by bus” – for people having children too young to go to school on their own this is an excuse. I even noticed several people switching to public transport on days when schools are closed. This can also explain difference in traffic volume between schooldays and school holidays… How to solve this problem of logistics?

For those intent to use their cars as a matter of principle, maybe only the hard version of stick and carrot will work. Privileges for public transport and financial disincentives for private cars… The issue Warsaw is to tackle to show the superiority of public transport is to bring down fares for single journey, as the comparison of cost of moving by car for a person not having a travel-card is cheaper than buying a public transport ticket. One-per-car transport is oddly enough in many instances far less expensive. When more passengers travel in one car the disparity is even more eye-popping…

Looking ahead – in the pipeline – by the end of the year several infrastructure developments in the capital are to be completed. The last of them is the rebuilt P&R Stokłosy car park, opening scheduled on 15 January 2015 but likely to be brought forward. From my perspective it will shorten the daily distance covered by car by 3 kilometres. The one to be definitely opened before local election, due on 16 November 2014 will the central section of the second underground line, linking W-wa Wileńska Station to Rondo Daszyńskiego. Before it happens, streets closed for the period of construction are to be reopened; some wider, some narrower. This is scheduled for next Wednesday. Expect a photo coverage next weekend.

I don’t get it...

1. I wouldn’t dare to declare this is any kind of breakthrough or milestone, it’s rather a folly and an outcome of too loose monetary policy and some other factors, but this happened today.
The WIG (index of Warsaw stock exchange which covers all companies listed) almost doubled its value from its low of 21,274.28 points on 17 February 2009 to 42,346.66 points today (but during the trading session the value was 200 points higher). How is it all going to end? – you’d ask. I suppose the stock prices will be rising in the next months, but in a rather moderate pace and the market will be quite volatile – we’ll see the a few corrections by five to fifteen per cent by the end of the year.

And the official version is that we are witnessing an unprecedented strong V-shaped recovery, profits of the companies will be skyrocketing, GDP figures will shoot up soon and generally stocks are undervalued and only a sucker or coward wouldn’t buy them now. Fortunately my grandma hasn’t called me to ask which stocks she should buy so the end of the folly is still far away, but the word “sucker” will sooner or later become a buzzword.

Some analysts are noticing something is afoot – will this voice of common sense be drowned out? I have to say for many weeks I haven’t read such well-argued analysis as that from today NY Times.

UPDATE, 30 March - today WIG notched up and crossed the imaginary border of 100%

2. As a rule I can say I don’t like and don’t understand marketing. I consider myself a person not prone to the efforts of marketing specialist who try to promote products (sometimes brainwash customers) by telling them they have some distinguishing features which justify the higher price. Sometimes I discern a good campaign, but for me much of the money is quite often spent in vain. Probably according to famous Pareto principle 20% of marketing spending generate 80% of total sales revenues.

There were situations in my short life when I had to promote something, sometimes I even succeeded, but it was when I did think what I promoted was worth being bought and the drivel flowing from my mouth wasn’t just a second-rate sales pitch.

But in a way I admire the people who have the gift and guts to persuade other to buy something what is generally unsightly and costs much more than it’s really worth. One of the examples are wellingtons, very popular among young women these days. The shoes usually to walk in the water are now an all-the-rage type of footwear and a pair of such rubber boots (to flatter users of AmE) costs as my friend told me 100 to 300 PLN. Great, you just need to be a fashion designer to come up with something kitschy, tell fashion-followers they’re in fashion this season and put a price label which has nothing in common with the intrinsic value of the product. This craze will be gone next year, but a new one is bound to come. I don’t think anything worse than wearing sneakers with a suit might happen, but my thinking has been proved wrong so many times.

3. And the new campaign launched by ZTM. Pan Mietek, who’s meant to be a main figure of a campaign is a retired actor who 25 years ago played a taxi driver in one of TV series. He is a driver – the ZTM authorities say and so he should talk other drivers into leaving their cars in garages and commute to work by buses. The bus-lane campaign should promote privileges for public transport as regulations which make moving around Warsaw quick and convenient. But as I noticed young people say Pan Mietek is a typical stary jełop (EN: old clunk). Whom will he address, the likes of him – Pani Stasia, Pan Kazik? The ones who already ride buses? To make this campaign more successful they should hire middle-aged CEOs and young yuppies who don’t stoop so low to use public transport and despite good service from home to work they prefer to get stuck in their cars in traffic jams. As long as people don’t see traveling by bus or tram is not a benchmark of lower social status they won’t be convinced to change their vehicles for public transport.

Development, but sustainable

The morning ride to school made me mull over the capacity of infrastructure as a barrier in the development. This barrier is a bit similar to a brick wall – to high to jump over it, too wide to go round it, but not heavy and not fixed to the ground so that people can push it forward, but their movement is slowed up and it wears them down along the way.

Let’s look at the example of the main roads out of Warsaw, like ul. Puławska. What’s the most effective choice for the roads users? Today the road was packed with cars, but also all buses I saw were packed with commuters. Let’s analyse a few variants…

Variant 1 – everyone who can changes the bus for a car. Buses run almost empty, those who choose to ride, travel more comfortably, but longer.

Variant 2 – some of the drivers give up their cars and decide to commute by bus. The passengers in the buses are packed like sardines, but their journey last shorter, other drivers also benefit from this.

Variant 3 – urban authorities decide to mark out a bus lane. Hard-line drivers swear like troopers, their journeys to work are fifty per cent longer. Buses are packed but run quickly.

I could come up with some more alternatives, if you want more, use your imagination, maybe leave a comment. The option 1 is undeniably the worst. The second has a certain drawback – the drivers won’t get the incentive to leave their cars because the number of buses serving the line will be too small to provide a decent standard of commuting. The third would not accelerate the journey so much. It wouldn’t last shorter off-peak, but would cause an unnecessary traffic restriction. It the rush hours it would speed it up a bit, but not as much as for instance on Trasa Łazienkowska. On ul. Puławska there are too many bus stops and too many traffic lights so the buses wouldn’t even manage to pick up speed on short sections between junctions and lay-bys.

It turns out that to ensure the decent transport link between the capital and the suburban town the authorities would have to either launch buses which would run once in two minutes in morning peak, or to widen the road to six lanes in each direction. But to unclog it would be imperative to remove most of the traffic lights and build a system of service roads (funnily enough I don’t know the Polish equivalent of the term – is it infeasible then?) along ul. Puławska to serve the residents living along the artery…

New estates spring up, the new dwellers move in, living on the suburbs inexorably evolves into a hell. The residents of my locality can be divided in three groups. The first have lived here almost since ever, like their fathers, grandfathers and so on. The second group moved out of Warsaw to run away from the city groan, fumes and noise. In return they lose two hours a day they spend in a traffic jam. Some of them already gave up and returned to Warsaw. The third group consists of people who arrived here from province in search for a better life. They settled down here cause the property prices were lower than in Warsaw. No wonder, they sought a better future for themselves and their children. We all pay the price.

When a developer builds a new estate, it’s interested in selling the flats or houses, reaping the profits. Hardly ever the developers care about the roads which link their buildings with the rest of the world. Even if they repair or modernise them it’s because the local council conditioned granting the planning permission on their contribution to the infrastructure. As far as I can observe, my locality has reached its limits of development. It should be cut back until the new infrastructure is built. Instead of quantity we should opt for a quality – quality of our lives.

Middle of the summer. I leave work, spend over an hour in stinky bus with people getting sweaty, come back home and what…? I can’t even take a shower cause the water doesn’t flow! Once again the infrastructure is overloaded. The underground water resources are scarce, the capacity of water treatment station is limited, so when a selfish jerk turns his garden watering system on, I can’t take a bath. People don’t care by their nature – they’d rather prevent their lawns and shrubs from withering than let their neighbours take an invigorating shower. In some countries (Great Britain, Sweden) it is forbidden to use water for watering the garden plants or car washing during the drought and people tend to comply to it. It someone breaks away, it’s a… Pole. Here authorities can impose bans to no effect…

Can we afford the development? Will the poor infrastructure turn the further development into an obstacle course. Will the electricity outages like the ones after the last winter attack paralyse the industry?

Look ahead, but don’t dismiss the black scenarios…

Car-free day...

I’d love to call it a carefree day… Daydream… This noteworthy initiative was first launched in 2001, now almost all countries in Europe participate in it, for at least forth time it has been staged in Warsaw. The upshot of the praiseworthy event turned out to be a complete letdown – as TVN Warszawa and Gazeta.pl report, the traffic jams in Warsaw today were much worse than on an ordinary Tuesday. According to the journalists and their interlocutors, the reasons why Warsaw was stuck in the morning can be traced back to our mentality. The drivers stopped by the reporters claimed in unison they had thought all the drivers would have left their cars in car parks and garages and had commuted to work by public transport. Because (almost) everybody thought so, even more drivers chose to go to town by their own vehicles, causing the subsequent traffic jams.

Warsaw Public Transport Authority decided that the best incentive for the car owners to change their cars into buses and trams would be free rides. Here came an overt discrimination – the right to ride without paying a fare was granted only to the ones who could show a registration certificate of their own car. Thus my father went to Warsaw by bus for free and came home quite satisfied with the journey – the 709 bus was almost empty, he had a seat, but the ride took quite long as the bus got stuck with other vehicles on clogged up ul. Puławska. I had to buy a ticket and felt discriminated ;)

The situation looked differently on Trasa Łazienkowska, where the bus lane was opened today. There traffic was snarled up for two thousand drivers, meanwhile the journey from Ochota to Praga Południe by bus is fifteen minutes shorter. The basic problem with bus lanes is that what allows the bus drivers to overtake smoothly other vehicles makes the drivers sitting comfortably behind their wheels stick in the even worse jams. Surprisingly, or predictably bus lanes only slightly put the drivers off commuting by car. Poles are reluctant to travel to work by buses or trams and are blind to (scarce) advantages of public transport. I see two reasons for such stance.

Firstly, Poland is still a society on the make – as a consequence having a car meaning showing (off with) social status. Someone who uses public transport is still in many circles perceived as less resourceful, poorer, in a word inferior. You could argue it changes for the better – where the people are open-minded thing are heading in a good direction. As I commute to Warsaw I can see a clear distinction between those two tiers of people who travel to town. One consists of businessmen, managers, elegant ladies, children of rich parents and all sorts of white collars, another is made up of students, pupils, whose parents don’t drop them off or pick up from school, pensioners, middle-aged women and representatives of blue-collar professions.

Secondly, it’s quality of the public transport. Inside the buses it’s too hot both in summer and in winter, air-con is never on, drivers are impolite, timetables are the approximate source of information on when the buses run. The links are often inconvenient, passengers are packed like sardines, it often stinks.

But the first, status reason still prevails. I’m waiting for the moment I change bus to car, but not to look down on commuters but to increase my comfort of travelling. I’m just tired of breaking sweat in a bus or walking one kilometres to the bus stop in the rain, boiling heat or freeze. But I wouldn’t hesitate to do away with a car, if there was a fast train from where I live at least to the nearest underground station. That’s why I can’t see the reason why many inhabitants of Ursynów, living few steps away from the underground station still use their cars. It mostly gets on my nerves whenever I see a fellow student parking a car with WN, WE or WI number plate (often better than my father’s one) on a tiny car park in front of SGH. It’s much cheaper to go by underground, tram, etc and much more convenient, taking into account difficulties with finding parking space. So the main reason is to show off and emphasise the social status…

I’ve made a New (academic) Year Resolution – I won’t be writing about all the absurdities I experience at school – grief-sodden posts won’t bear any fruit. Today I’ll confine to only one remark – may it render the chaos of allegedly the best academy of economics.
“The students who passed their bachelor’s exam until 3rd July can receive their diplomas” – such announcement was put up by administrative staff today. The case is that bachelor’s exams were held since 6th July…

Oh… And I’ll pass over my adventures with national health service, number transfers, lack of running water in the tap every evening…