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Poland
| Buses | 7 |
| Employees | 60 |
| Entered bus market | 2007 |
| Population | 38.2 million |
| Liberalisation stage | Emerging |
Bus
Since 2003 the regional authorities have the option of freely selecting transport companies, using invitation to tender procedures, and there are increasing instances of bus tendering and subcontracting in the larger towns and cities. The bus market is divided between 167 former state-owned companies providing rural, interurban and long-distance transport, and around 140 municipal bus operators operating in towns and cities.
Rail
PKP SA (PKP), the state-owned railway company, maintains and invests in infrastructure, hauls 85 per cent of the freight market and operates long-distance and regional passenger transport services. After entering the market in December 2007, with the start of a three-year rail franchise in the north-west of the country, the Arriva-PCC joint venture is the only other company currently operating passenger rail services in Poland.
Future
There is currently no government policy for public transport provision, and no financial resources to support and develop it, which goes some way to explaining the trend towards transforming publicly-owned establishments into commercial companies. This in itself provides opportunities, and as a business experienced in turning around former public sector companies to become successful commercial operations, we expect to grow in this country over coming years.
