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The aim of the conducted research was to assess how the elderly viewed the functioning of public transport, with Łódź, a large city in Poland, as the example. The data presented in the article originates from research of 400 inhabitants aged 60+ was conducted in the district of Bałuty in Łódź at the turn of November and December 2018. On the basis of the questionnaire survey (which contained questions concerning the use of local public transport by the over 60s for daily journeys and was accomplished by CAPI and MOBI methods) it was found that the over 60s have quite a high opinion of the offer of the municipal transport company MPK (they hardly ever use services of other carriers). As for the means of public transport, the tram is rated slightly higher compared to the bus. The results of the research enable the proposal of general recommendations for the transport policy in Łódź. This policy should be focused to a larger degree on: shortening the waiting time and, consequently, increasing the frequency of connections and punctuality, while continuing to provide high travel comfort, increasing the level of accessibility to stops and enhancing the clarity of information with regard to fare prices and exemptions.

In this article, we identify the spatial mobility of the populations of selected urban centres in Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. In total, 1,616 interviews were conducted. Additionally also interviews with the employees responsible for crisis management were conducted. Based on the analyses, five different clusters were identified, with different patterns of inhabitants in terms of their spatial mobility in the event of war. The most significant factors influencing their mobility in crisis situations are country of residence, age, number of people in the household and sex. This research can help develop evacuation strategies at different levels of governance.

The transport behaviour of Lodz residents with a view to constructing a balanced traffic model to include both private and public transport is examined in this paper. A survey was conducted among 6,000 Łódź citizens using mixed-mode techniques: CAWI and CATI: respondents were asked to complete a travel log for the previous day and the previous Sunday. This served as a basis for further analyses, performed with PTV simulation software, following a four-step model. The main results of the study are presented, including the mobility rate of Łódź residents, the motivations and duration of journeys, and the division of transport tasks into workdays and Sundays, indicating that a higher private carload is typical for home-other and other-home trips on Sundays compared to working days. The number of home to work and work-home trips via private cars is higher for working days compared to Sundays. Furthermore, the simulated traffic load of the public transport system is much higher for working days compared to Sundays. A higher percentage of non-motorised trips and longer trip duration are found to be common for Sundays as well.

This paper proposes a flood vulnerability index utilizing publicly available data that can be applied to different spatial scales. The index enables the development of an appropriate flood risk management strategy, tailored to those factors of vulnerability that have the greatest impact on the overall flood vulnerability of a given place. Currently, following a shift in the approach to flood protection, vulnerability has become a critical element of disaster mitigation. This index is an important contribution to the existing body of research as it can be applied to flood risk management strategies overcoming the ambiguity of definitions of vulnerability and the dynamic nature of temporal and spatial scales of analysis. The proposed flood vulnerability index is a multifaceted approach, encompassing physical, social, economic, environmental, and institutional attributes. In order to create the index, the literature on flood vulnerability was reviewed, including definitions, research methods, as well as the factors and constituents that are major components of vulnerability. The proposed indicator can be used by policy-makers responsible for flood risk management, especially in EU countries, in order to minimize the negative consequences of floods. Compared to other methods used (i.e., disaster loss estimation or modeling), the flood vulnerability index is easy to use when comparing different areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic and, in consequence, many countries took steps to prevent the importation and subsequent local transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, resulting in restrictions on economic activity, transport, travel, and daily mobility. Although the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on daily mobility have been widely addressed in the literature, there is a limited number of studies that indicate to what extent these changes have become permanent. The purpose of this study was to determine the nature and scale of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local transport system of a large city in Poland (Łódź) and, above all, to identify the permanence of this impact. To accomplish these objectives, a questionnaire survey was conducted using the computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) technique on a sample of 500 residents, which included questions on daily mobility in the period before (autumn 2019) and after (autumn 2022) the pandemic. In addition, the results of the questionnaire survey were juxtaposed with data from intelligent transport systems (ITS) (data from 20 induction loops, and data on the number of tickets validated in public transport vehicles). Not only did the pandemic change the frequency of spatial motivations, but it also affected trip durations and preferred modes of transport. The most unfavourable changes concern the modal division and the increase in the use of private transport at the expense of public transport. Understanding the durability of the impact of the pandemic on changes in the spatial mobility of the population may help to develop transport policies and increase the resilience of transport systems to possible future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article was the assessment of the spatial matching of existing shelters (supply) to the distribution of residents in Suwałki (demand), considering their declared transport behaviours while evacuating during war. The analysis was conducted based on the locations of existing emergency shelters using data on population distribution (registration data with building accuracy). Spatial alignment was determined using the P-Median problem and E2SFCA. In terms of establishing vehicular or pedestrian travel time, the Manhattan metric based on the urban road network model was utilised. A model of vehicle movement speed was then constructed, while a constant speed was assumed for pedestrian movement. Additionally, survey data on the transport behaviour of inhabitants of Suwałki in the case of war were conducted in 2023. The study concluded that the population residing within the city limits should evacuate on foot, and that prior training on the evacuation process is especially necessary for those who reside in less populated areas of the city. The analyses also showed that existing emergency shelters are overly dispersed, making management difficult for emergency services. Since the current capacity of emergency shelters is not sufficient for the number and distribution of inhabitants of Suwałki, the most practical significance of this article in this respect is to indicate to the authorities the optimal number and location for emergency shelters (to improve the evacuation process). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]