The article presents directions for the development of the motorway and expressway network in Poland in the years 1990-2018. The network of express roads in the country is intensively developed. Motorways payable for motor vehicles are supplemented with a network of free express roads, mainly dual carriageways. The program of construction of expressways for the years 2014-2023 is consistently implemented. The main motorways of the A-1, A-2 and A-4 were built. During the expansion there are expressways S-3, S-5, S-6, S-7, S-8, S17, S-19 and S-61. Current road investments are focused on the construction of missing sections of express roads and city bypasses. The study also attempts to rationalize the order of undertaken investments and modify their spatial distribution.

The purpose of the article is to characterise the possibilities of introducing and developing of urban rail-based transport in Poland. This problem is related to the question whether in order to improve public transport in cities which already have a rail-based (or any electric) transport system, its development should be considered, while in the case of cities without such a transport there is the question if introducing a new means of public rail-based transport is an appropriate solution. In order to answer these dilemmas in the first stage of the present article, new rail-based urban transport systems which have been introduced in European cities in the last decade are characterised, while in the second stage the possibilities of introducing of such means of transport in Polish cities are analysed. The research results demonstrate that rail-based transport may be a proper solution to transport problems of cities, although the possibilities of its development in Polish cities vary depending on many demographic, economic, spatial and political factors. In the largest Polish cities which can be described as metropolises the question is: what sort of rail transport system should to developed ?, in medium-sized towns, however, the challenge is rather to maintain the existing networks. The legitimacy of the implementation of new rail-based urban transport systems depends on the coordination of the activities of many institutions at various levels and from support at the national and European level.

The paper aims to analyse urban transport in the context of how sustainable development is understood and implemented in the case of Copenhagen. An on-site query was conducted in order to reach the research objective. The results of the analysis helped the authors identify forms in which the sustainable transport concept is being implemented, including the diversification of means of transport, the development of intermodal transport and hierarchies of public transport, and the Copenhagenization of the city space. The outcome of the study also includes the indication of key challenges which are related to the development of sustainable transport and primarily stem from the ubiquitous bicycle transport in Copenhagen. In order to perform a more in-depth analysis, the authors also interviewed city space users – indigenous Danes and Polish immigrants. Two perspectives/opinions on the functioning of the Copenhagen urban transport system were thus obtained: that of the indigenous residents of the city and that of immigrants. The results of those interviews contributed to the indication of trends in the use of different means of transport by both studied social groups.

The public bicycle system (bike-sharing system) is becoming an increasingly common element of the transport system in urban space in Poland and in the world. The main reasons for implementing this solution in urban areas include the need to increase the efficiency of urban transport systems and to reduce the problems created by the pressure of traditional means of transport on the environment. Public bike is also successfully becoming an element of multimodal transport by connecting with other public transport. In Poland, bike-sharing has been operating since 2008, expanding its range with each subsequent year for new cities, as well as rural areas. The study analyzed changes in the number of systems in Poland in 2017-2018 – in the period of the greatest development of this form of transport in the studied area. The analysis was based on the indicators of the number of public bicycle stations on a given area and the number of bicycles on the background of the number of inhabitants of the analyzed cities. The work also compared bicycle rental rates for individual systems operating in Poland. On the basis of the analyzed data, the directions of public bicycle development in Poland were also determined.

The aim of the article is to show how the functions of the small Polish seaports are currently changing. This was done in two ways: (1) by comparing their handling, passenger and fishing functions with large Polish ports; (2) by analysing the example of the port in Ustka. The spatial range comprises all Polish small ports and selected marinas. The temporal range covers the years 1996-2016. It was found that small ports are in regress. They cannot keep up with large ports in terms of freight handling and passenger numbers. Their function as fishing ports is also being reduced. The development of tourist functions, especially as yacht harbours and marinas, can be an opportunity for them, but for the time being it is rather poorly developed.

One of the main objectives of the European Union’s transport policy is to strive to create an intelligent, environmentally friendly and accessible transport system for users, including rail transport. In recent years, the greatest progress in rail transport in the EU can be observed in the area of creating a transparent system of communication with the client. The aim of the article is to present, from the passenger’s point of view, taken actions in the field of the use of digital technologies for the distribution of services by Polish rail passenger carriers.