The Impact of Transport Exclusion on the Local Development of Biała County

Abstract

The issue of transport exclusion is an important social problem. It is of major interest to both central and local authorities. For the purposes of this study, a research questionnaire was conducted on the issue of transport exclusion. The area of the research carried out was Biała County, composed of seventeen communes and two cities. The data were collected based on an electronic questionnaire, i.e., using the CAWI method (Computer Assisted Web Interview). In total, 473 inhabitants of the studied area took part in the survey. Logistic regression, Spearman’s rank correlation method, and Pearson’s chi-square test of independence were all used in the data analysis. The research shows that local communities emphasise the problem of an insufficient number of connections or point out the complete lack of connections with respect to particular localities. Transport exclusion affects, in particular, people living in small towns, the elderly, the disadvantaged, and the disabled. The lack of basic means of transport hinders access to the labour market, especially for people starting their vocational careers, as well as for education, health care, and other spheres of human life. The lack of collective transport forces the inhabitants to use their own cars. As a consequence, the environment suffers from it (more and more exhaust fumes are getting into the air), road infrastructure is excessively being used and the number of accidents is increasing. Additionally, there are traffic jams at the entrances to cities (congestion). Limited access to public transport or its total absence results in the depopulation of localities and halting the development of selected communes.

Framework for the Design of a Small Transport Hub as an Interdisciplinary Challenge to Implement Sustainable Solutions

“…So far, while many recommendations regarding green and sustainable transport organization and prioritization have been advertised [36], no comprehensive catalogue of guidelines has been developed to support designers and strategic decision-makers in resource-constrained situations, such as those where small transport hubs are built, as well as those specifically tailored to such hubs. Such situations are faced by people in locations considered remote, far away from large cities, as indicated by Charnavalau et al, who investigated transport exclusion and observed that the groups most disadvantaged by this are the elderly and people with disabilities, especially in small towns [37]. The transport-related social exclusion of the elderly was explored by Shergold and Parkhurst [38], who also found this group to be particularly vulnerable when their transportation needs are not met.…”

“…The study's findings can be applied to the sustainability-focused design of transport hubs in small cities with deficiencies in public transport. The problem of transport exclusion in such cities [42] is universal [37,[43][44][45] and has been approached in our study in a manner that can be easily adapted to local, case-specific conditions in most cultures and climates.…”

Without a car and overnight stay, can a visit to a regional centre be an unattainable goal in Slovakia?

“…The basic idea, which is verified by experience, suggests that low access to mobility can reduce the opportunity to participate in society, which also negatively affects a person's health and overall sense of well-being (Delbosc & Currie, 2011;Mackett & Thoreau, 2015;Ma et al, 2018). Inspiring ideas about the social impacts of poor transport accessibility for populations living in peripheral areas and/or with limited mobility options are also reflected, with some time lag, in the work of authors from post-socialist states (Horňák & Rochovská, 2014;Gašparović, 2016;Jaroš, 2017;Székely & Novotný, 2020Baran & Augustyn, 2021;Charnavalau et al, 2022;van Dülmen et al, 2022) or from other parts of Europe (Binder & Matern, 2020).…”