Article
citation information:
Bociąga, B. Environmental impact of
public transport in the Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska
Metropolis. Scientific Journal of
Silesian University of Technology. Series Transport. 2019, 103, 05-13. ISSN: 0209-3324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20858/sjsutst.2019.103.1.
Bartosz BOCIĄGA[1]
ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN THE GÓRNOŚLĄSKO-ZAGŁĘBIOWSKA
METROPOLIS
Summary. This paper discusses the environmental
characteristics of assets of the public transport systems in
Górnośląsko-Dąbrowska Metropolis. The public transport is
served by a number of companies. This poses the problem of integrating their
behaviour in a coherent manner for environment protection. The Metropolis
includes regions highly populated with good road networks as well as small
localities which generates small transport demands. The transport potential is
assessed and categorised in relation to its impact on the environment. The
volume of emission of pollutants and the severity of their presence in the
environment are summarised. Conditions of the functioning of the constituents
of the systems were analysed, accounting for their contribution to pollution as
well as health hazards cases.
Keywords: transport, public
transport, exhaust emission, emission standards, emission, Euro, GZM
1. INTRODUCTION
Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska
Metropolis (GZM) was established on 1 July 2017 and started operation on
January 1, 2018. It is an association of administrative units subject to
regulations of a metropolitan region [1]. GZM is constituted of 41
municipalities in the central part of Silesian Voivodeship. It has a human
habitation of over 2.3 million people, with an area of 2553 km2.
The association carries
out public domain tasks such as shaping spatial order, social and economic
development of the region, development and integration of public transport and
sustainable mobility, cooperation with road authorities in determining the
routes of national and regional roads, promotion of the GZM. GZM’s budget
is built on contributions from the municipalities and a 5% share of the PIT
(personal income tax) of inhabitants of the region which amount to over 360 mln
PLN (2018) [2].
The region has a very
favourable geographical location; it is an attractive area for investors and
various economic activities. A dense network of communal infrastructure, an
extensive transport network and a diversified range of services in passenger
and freight transport which promotes investments.
The GZM Metropolis is
located in the centre of Europe at the intersection of two trans-European
transport corridors, TEN-T III and VI. Six European capitals are located in a
radius of 600 km from Katowice: Berlin, Bratislava, Budapest, Prague, Warsaw
and Vienna. In addition, it connects via various means of transport to many
regions in Poland and thanks to Katowice International Airport, it connects
with most European cities.
The GZM region has a
well-developed communication infrastructure in comparison to the rest of
Poland. The region is characterised by a strong developed network of
infrastructure, consisting of national roads and highways, regional and local
roads. There is over 21,000 km of public roads, which is 8% of the total number
of national roads. Two-lane roads amount to 2.6% of the total, which gives the
highest road density indicator in the country, 161.9 km/100 km2,
while the average density is 79.6 km/100 km2. The network of
transport infrastructure connections using various means of transport is
extensive and this creates considerable opportunities for the mobility of
people and goods.
Public transport
services are provided by bus, train and tram operators. The public bus
transport system consists of over 500 bus lines operated by transport
associations, city budget units and commercial carriers using a very diverse
fleet of vehicles. Diverse in terms of capacity (seating, standing),
dimensions, manufacturer, year of manufacture and even the number and methods
of opening the doors of the vehicles.
In Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska
Metropolis, the public bus transport system is served by more than 1.1 thousand
buses stopping at over 7 thousand bus stops and used by 1.2 million people
daily. Large urban agglomerations, which extend over large areas usually have
public transport systems consisting of overlapping and complementary
subsystems. The main public transport operator in
Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolis is the Municipal
Transport Union of the Upper Silesian Industrial District (Komunikacyjny
Związek Komunalny Górnośląskiego Okręgu
Przemysłowego), named KZK GOP, founded in 1991. It is a transport
organiser for 29 municipalities and covers almost the entire Metropolis area.
The basic tasks of KZG GOP are:
·
organisation
of local public transport and maintenance and the development of
infrastructure.
·
development
and maintenance of ticket services.
·
promotion
and provision of travel information services.
·
coordination
of activities related to traffic management.
KZK GOP outsources
transport services to local companies. The largest operators, in terms of
volume of transport are:
·
Public Transport Company in Sosnowiec (Przedsiębiorstwo
Komunikacji Miejskiej w Sosnowcu) – PKM Sosnowiec.
·
Public Transport Company in Katowice (Przedsiębiorstwo
Komunikacji Miejskiej w Katowicach) – PKM Katowice.
·
Public Transport Company in Gliwice (Przedsiębiorstwo
Komunikacji Miejskiej w Gliwicach) – PKM Gliwice.
In addition to the
above, KZK GOP collaborates with 32 more bus services companies. Not all
municipalities in the Metropolis partner with
KZK GOP, but many support and provide services for the KZK GOP or their own
locations, notably:
·
Municipal Communication Board in Tychy (Miejski Zarząd
Komunikacji w Tychach) – MZK Tychy.
·
Public Transport Company in Jaworzno (Przedsiębiorstwo
Komunikacji Miejskiej w Jaworznie) – PKM Jaworzno.
·
The Inter-communal Union of Passenger Communications in Tarnowskie
Góry (Międzygminny Związek Komunikacji Pasażerskiej w
Tarnowskich Górach) – MZKP Tarnowskie Góry.
To meet the demand and
maintain the comfort of transport services KZK GOP constantly expands and
unifies its assets by modernising its bus fleet and introducing uniform IT
systems for managing them. One of the first problems tackled by KZK GOP was the
unification of the transport offer, which is, devising a common ground for all
of its operators, platform for accounting costs, informing travellers and
managing joint undertakings. Currently, there is a common ticket –
One-Ticket, for all the services and a complex web-based system with mobile
applications for travel information [3].
2. ASSETS OF THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT
IN GZM
Readily available
publications give only an approximate account of the public transport assets
[4]. Information, especially in the case of small commercial entities, is not
publicised because assets are constantly changing and this highly influences
the economy of the entities. Large companies readily provide data, but only
when directly approached.
Table 1 presents the
summary of assets of big companies providing public transport services in GZM.
These are public transport companies in Gliwice, Katowice, Tychy, Sosnowiec,
Świerklaniec and Jaworzno, which carry out in total over 80% of the public
transport work in GZM. Vehicles in service were classified according to the
pollution level of their engines. Data is based on current company registers,
only total journey lengths of vehicles are noted, as detailed information
contained ambiguous entries.
The fleets of vehicles
of the companies present a diversified combination of vehicles. The least
polluting (Euro 5 and Euro 6) vehicles constitute 65 % of the whole fleet. PKM
Świerklaniec is the most environmentally friendly company with a share of
87%.
Tab. 1
Assets of public
transport operators and total lengths of journeys per operator per year
|
Operator |
The length of transport journeys in one year (2017) |
The total number of vehicles |
Total number of vehicles |
|||||
|
Euro 1 |
Euro 2 |
Euro 3 |
Euro 4 |
Euro 5 |
Euro 6 |
|||
|
PKM Gliwice |
11,503,931 |
0 |
20 |
30 |
17 |
87 |
26 |
180 |
|
PKM Tychy / MZK Tychy |
9,531,507 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
24 |
64 |
40 |
136 |
|
PKM Katowice |
16,583,755 |
0 |
12 |
52 |
5 |
90 |
93 |
252 |
|
PKM Świerklaniec |
6,708,644 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
47 |
1 |
55 |
|
PKM Sosnowiec |
17,488,237 |
0 |
0 |
108 |
28 |
20 |
95 |
251 |
|
PKM Jaworzno |
4,900,000 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
2 |
30 |
4 |
45 |
|
Totals |
66,716,074 |
0 |
33 |
208 |
81 |
338 |
259 |
919 |
Source: [5-10]
Tychy also uses the
fleet of trolleybuses, which, however, were not included in the calculations.
3.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The main pollutants are
substances emitted by vehicle engines due to fuel combustion. In the combustion
process, the chemical energy of the fuel (compression and decompression of the
gas) is converted into mechanical energy. The combustion process involves the
production of large amounts of harmful gases, including nitrogen oxides (NOx)
and solid particles. Pollutants emitted during the combustion of liquid fuels
in automotive vehicles affect the processes of acidification of the environment
and the ground ozone production. Despite the use of various types of mechanisms
to reduce the harmful effects, it is almost impossible to completely purify
exhaust gases, and thus neutralize their negative impact on the natural
environment. Other important constituents of pollution are particles of gum and
asphalt, which are raised into the air by vehicle tyres in the course of
driving.
European Union (EU) is
the legal body, which issues directives on the limitation of air pollution
– EURO. Euro is the European emission standard of permissible exhaust
emissions in new vehicles sold in the European Union. These standards were
developed in a series of European Directives that successively increased their
stringency. Every few years, new increasingly stricter emission standards are
introduced. Euro 1 was introduced in 1992, that is over 25 years ago.
Currently, Euro 6 is in effect and vehicle producers have no problems adapting
their products to its applicable requirements. At least theoretically, as
recent scandals revealed that some cars were specially prepared to fulfil these
regulations only in laboratory conditions. Table 2 shows the levels of
pollution constituents as defined in the standards, for vehicles equipped with
diesel engines. Diesel engines are the predominant type of engines used by
public transport vehicles.
Tab. 2
The emission standards
for vehicles with diesel engines
|
Emitted substance [g/km] |
Euro 1 |
Euro 2 |
Euro 3 |
Euro 4 |
Euro 5 |
Euro 6 |
|
CO |
3.16 |
1 |
0.64 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
|
HC |
0 |
0.15 |
0.06 |
0.05 |
0.05 |
0.05 |
|
NOX |
0 |
0.55 |
0.5 |
0.25 |
0.18 |
0.08 |
|
HC+NOX |
1.13 |
0.7 |
0.56 |
0.3 |
0.23 |
0.17 |
|
PM |
0.14 |
0.08 |
0.05 |
0.009 |
0.005 |
0.005 |
Source: [11]
Lack of split of travel
lengths into vehicle categories maintains an assumption of the way
companies’ fleets are exploited in order to assess the compound pollution
effect. Available reports indicate that companies do not assign vehicles to bus
lines according to their Euro emission levels. Vehicles in working order are
dispatched to service bus lines daily, which accounts usually for more than 80%
of the company’s fleet. Considering this, on average, each vehicle in
service, travels yearly about 80,000 km. Table 3 summarises vehicle travel
lengths. Transport companies in Świerklaniec and Jaworzno exploit their
assets exceedinly by 80% and 60%, respectively, more than the average length of
vehicle operation.
Tab. 3
Average yearly length of
vehicle operation [km]
|
PKM Gliwice |
79,888 |
|
PKM Tychy / MZK Tychy |
87,606 |
|
PKM Katowice |
82,261 |
|
PKM Świerklaniec |
152,469 |
|
PKM Sosnowiec |
87,093 |
|
PKM Jaworzno |
136,111 |
The total volume of
pollutants is calculated as the product of the number of vehicles, the average
operation length and the volume of emitted substances as defined in the
appropriate emission standards.
Using the values from
Tables 2 and 3, the total mass of pollutants is obtained as shown in Table 4.
The sums are split into categories of vehicles used for the transportation
business. The largest share of pollutants is emitted by Euro 3 vehicles. This
standard was introduced 18 years ago. It indicates that the average age of
these vehicles servicing public transport is at least 18 years. Presumably,
these vehicles will go out of service in the near future. Euro 4 vehicles
contribute to a similar extent as very old Euro 2 vehicles. New vehicles
complying with Euro 5 approach the levels of pollution of the Euro 3 vehicles,
with an almost larger fleet of 63%. The contribution of Euro 4 vehicles is four
times smaller than that of Euro 3, this is attributable to the very small
number of these vehicles, which is as a result of certain changes in the
vehicle replacement policies of the companies in recent years.
The sum of pollutants of
Euro 5 and 6 vehicles presents 51% of the total pollution although these add up
to 65% of the total number of vehicles. This shows that companies care for the
reduction of pollution. There are incentives for such behaviours. For instance,
companies can apply for subsidies from environment protection bodies such as the
National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. Tender
documents, in the case of buying vehicles for public transport, must include
terms of reference, which contain clauses that restrict the pollution levels of
the vehicles.
Tab. 4
The total value of
emissions of each of the substances for all public transport operators
|
Emitted substance [kg/km] |
Euro 1 |
Euro 2 |
Euro 3 |
Euro 4 |
Euro 5 |
Euro 6 |
Total emissions [kg] |
|
CO |
0 |
2,138 |
9,330 |
2,938 |
13,181 |
8,881 |
36,468 |
|
HC |
0 |
321 |
875 |
294 |
1,318 |
888 |
3,696 |
|
NOX |
0 |
1,176 |
7,289 |
1,469 |
4,745 |
1,421 |
16,100 |
|
HC+NOX |
0 |
1,497 |
8,164 |
1,763 |
6,063 |
3,020 |
20,507 |
|
PM |
0 |
171 |
729 |
53 |
132 |
89 |
1,174 |
|
total |
0 |
5,303 |
26,387 |
6,517 |
25,439 |
14,299 |
77,944 |
The current strategy of
activities for GZM [12] defines programs for the development of public
transport based on a modern low-emission bus fleet and creation of an
integrated public transport system (tram/bus/train). It aims to promote the use
of alternative means of transport, from private cars to public transport, and
reduce the entry of private vehicles to the already congested city centres. GZM
is also involved in programs for the enlargement of the electric vehicle fleet.
This is coincident with the directives of the EU Transport Commissions [13].
4. HEALTH
HAZARDS CAUSED BY POLLUTANTS
Exposure to pollutants
to a large extent causes dysfunction of the respiratory, cardiovascular and
immunologic systems. It is a source of toxicity, which leads to a variety of
cancers in the long term. Many factors affect the human health condition,
including the level and availability of health care, lifestyle or the level of
affluence of the society.Additionally, other factors which have no direct
influence, such as modifiable environmental factors; air quality, noise, radiation, green
areas, that is, those whose quality or level impacts depend largely on human
activity. Transport contributes to the degradation of the natural environment
and has a negative impact on humans. On the scale of the European Union,
transport is a source of almost 54% of the total emissions of nitrogen oxides,
45% carbon monoxide, 23% non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), 23%
PM10 dust and 28% PM2.5 dust. It is also responsible for over 41% of ozone
precursor emissions troposphere and 23% of CO2 emissions and almost
20% of other greenhouse gases [14, 15]. However, there has been a 30% decrease
in CO2 emissions in newly registered cars in recent years [16]. Preparing a
true reliable research, which presents the results of the emission of harmful
substances, demands the input of certain determinants; fuel quality, climate
conditions, vehicle fleet and data on the activities of vehicles [17]. CO2
emissions decrease when the quality level of road infrastructure increases, a
good-consistent road segment was observed to have a lower emission rate of
20–30% than a poor-consistent one [18, 19, 20, 21].
The first effect of
pollutants is noticed in the vocals due to its damage to the human respiratory
tract. Pollutants favour the development of asthma and lung cancer, especially
PMs and hydrocarbons which cause serious damage to the respiratory tract.
Studies have shown that traffic-related air pollution increases the risk of
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) [22, 23].
Exposure to pollutants
can lead to changes in white blood cell counts, which affects cardiovascular
functions. High levels of NOX, are associated with ventricular
hypertrophy. Air suspended toxic materials have damaging effeects on the nerve
system. Reports have revealed that pollutants increase the incidence rate of
neuroinflammation, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Furthermore, there is
evidence that neurobehavioral hyperactivity is increased due to exposure to
pollutants [24].
Immune system
dysfunction brings about an increased risk of numerous diseases. Air pollutants
modify antigen presentation, increase in the serum levels of the
immunoglobulin, which decreases resistance to illnesses.
Cancer risk caused by
air pollutants is severe. Lung cancer is the most dominant disease observed
yearly; about 19,000 new cases are reported in Poland. Based on the analysis
prepared by the Health and Environmental Alliance, it follows that every 8th
lung cancer case in Poland is caused by air pollutants [25].
In 2016, malignant
tumours were the second cause of death in Poland, causing 27.3% of deaths among
men and 24.1% in women. The incidence of malignant tumours in the Silesia
region in 2016 was 9852 for men for every 100,000 inhabitants and 9704 for
women for every 100,000 inhabitants [26, 27].
The amount of the
average annual PM10 dust concentrations has slightly decreased in recent years.
There is a visible decrease in concentrations at sites in Gliwice or Sosnowiec.
Many factors influenced this condition, including meteorological conditions, as
well as the activity of both organisational units and numerous remedial actions
taken by the local governments or the new fleet of local transport
organisations.
5.
CONCLUSIONS
In
Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolis, carbon monoxide
has the largest volume of emission. Other emitted substances that are harmful
to the human health and environment are nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and solid
particles (PM). The level of pollution generated by public transport is high
and dangerous to the health of GZM residents, but companies are aware of the
risks and therefore take the necessary actions in this regard. The European
transport sector has achieved significant reductions in the emissions of some
of the major air pollutants, primarily due to the introduction of emission
standards, financial measures and, to a lesser extent, the use of alternative
fuels and avoiding transport activities. Thanks to the introduction of
increasingly stringent standards, emissions of bus fleets are gradually being
reduced. This is evidenced by the high share of new low-emission buses and
other activities, including the purchase of electric buses, the creation of
joint strategies and plans for emission reduction.
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Received 15.02.2019; accepted in revised form 10.05.2019
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