Transportation exclusion of children and young people in Poland is a problem that limits their access to education, culture and social life. The lack of public transportation in many regions, especially rural ones, affects their developmental and social opportunities. How can this be remedied?
Imagine this scenario: every morning you have to go to work an hour earlier, and leaving after 2:12 pm means waiting until 7:03 pm for any transportation. Such a vision is, unfortunately, the reality of many people - except that it's not adults, but teenagers. Transportation exclusion is one of the most important social problems affecting children and adolescents in Poland. A report prepared by UNICEF Poland, provides a detailed analysis of the scale of this phenomenon, its consequences and potential corrective measures. This exclusion means the absence of public transportation in the place of residence or very low frequency of courses.
There have already been many jokes, memes and anecdotes about how hard it was for our parents to get to school, but let's agree - there is no need to translate the past into the present. The scale of the problem now, according to concrete data, is clear - 14% of children and young people aged 12-19 are at risk of transportation exclusion, and 30% of those surveyed rate access to public transportation in their locality as problematic. Particularly in rural areas and small towns, lack of access to public transportation significantly limits educational, social and recreational opportunities for children and young people.
further more peaceful?
It is said "learn to learn, because learning is the key to power." However, it so happens that most often good schools are located in the centers of larger cities. Your parents decided to fulfill a dream and "drop it all and go to the Bieszczady"? Sorry, you have drawn inferior access to education. 44% of high school students indicate that the availability of public transportation was a key factor in choosing a school. That's a lot. In addition, one in five respondents admit that they would have chosen a different school if not for transportation problems. In many outlying counties, lack of access to educational institutions forces long commutes, which is a barrier not only financially, but also in terms of time. Although, when I touched on this topic in my materials, one observer mentioned that this now makes her the best at organizing her time. Plus one, a friend - on the bus and at the bus stop we were able to do a math assignment, study for a test and read a reading - even though sometimes there were no seats. On the way from the bus stop, we would think about what to buy at the store and what else we needed to embrace. The ninjas of efficiency were us kids who commuted more than an hour to school (and no, we didn't eat breakfast for dinner and didn't go to bed with our clothes on, as described in the film).
"and because you weren't there".
The downside of this, unfortunately, was that in this rush there was no time or opportunity for relationships. If there was something going on after school - young people affected by transportation exclusion would not show up. 50% of children and adolescents experienced a situation where they could not attend a meeting with their peers because of transportation difficulties. Transportation exclusion significantly affects the building of peer relationships and the formation of social competence. The same is true of going to the cinema or other attractions. 42% of respondents at risk of exclusion have limited access to places related to entertainment, culture or sports. In rural areas, lack of access to social infrastructure is more acute, especially in the case of extracurricular activities.
spatial inequalities
Exclusion is not the same everywhere. The variation in transportation accessibility between regions is significant. In the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, as much as 60% of the population has very poor accessibility by public transportation to regional centers. The low level of accessibility by public transport is particularly evident in the so-called inner periphery, where long distances to basic services are also marked.
how it happened
If we wanted to map the network of causes, a picture would probably appear to us at first... actually, no - it would not appear. White spots would appear, which would signify the shortcomings of the oftransportation infrastructure. This would be the lack of an adequate number of bus stops and regular services in many localities, especially rural ones. The network of connections gets lost as we move away from the city center. This is especially contrasting if we compare the picture with a map of deepening suburbanization.
However, let's return to the causes. The high cost of transportationis also noticeable . Families with lower incomes often move further away and look for a cheaper price per square meter - but they are not able to provide their children with individual means of transportation. At the same time, infrequent buses and trains discourage young people from using public transportation.
here's an idea for
It's a complicated task - to end exclusion. The easiest thing to do is to throw around the idea that you need to bring in more connections and improve their regularity. This alone will not do much. That's why you also need to financially support transportation in rural and peripheral regions. Public transportation does not have to budget for zero. Ticket profit is not the only criterion to steer transportation. On the other hand, families can also be supported - on a plate of solutions are, for example, programs to support the purchase of tickets for children and young people, or solutions to facilitate shared transportation to schools.
But what would a good recommendation be without an education and awarenesssection? Although the problem is getting louder and louder, socially, however, we probably know little about the fact that the phenomenon of traffic exclusion not only has some scale, but exists at all. So there are ideas about social campaigns to promote the use of public transportation as a green and socially responsible solution, but I see this more as a nationwide project to encourage people to transfer. After all, what good is an ideological conviction if no bus will leave from under our house? Education, however, can raise awareness among local governments of the need to invest in transportation infrastructure. It should assume a correlation of the relationship of functions and transportation. The creation of a local plan must see the perspective. If new residential development areas are planned, it is essential to take into account the mode of transportation. It is also necessary to increase public participation in the organization of transportation, especially in the case of implementation of certain anti-exclusion programs.
For me, the most important thing is to educate about dependencies - about the fact that you don't buy a house, but the whole neighborhood, including the way all family members' affairs are handled. It's such a package, which also includes transportation. If you're planning a move, don't be tempted by beautiful visuals of a sunny Saturday on the terrace. Think about how you will get there on a rainy November day.
