The problems of urban public transport and their solution trends

Abstract

Communication necessity is determined by the need to meet an urban resident’s business, cultural and everyday needs. The population movement in Lithuania’s biggest cities, Vilnius (570.000 residents) and Kaunas (373.000 residents), constitute 3.0 and 2.5 trips a day respectively. 50 percent are made up of business trips and approximately 40 percent of all these trips involve changing transport means. 45 percent of the trips in Vilnius are made using public transport and 25 percent by means of car; in Kaunas these numbers equal 60 percent and 22.5 percent respectively. The research carried out by the author highlights the following main urban public transport problems: public transport has lost is attractiveness, the majority of resident’s business trip length exceeds the set length, a slow communication speed which diminishes more in the city centre, public transport means that have undergone wear and have grown obsolete, public transport means are not equipped to satisfy disabled people’s needs, a poor financial state of public transport, public transport has not been given priority rights either at crossroads or in the streets, an imperfect public transport management system, the development of the public transport network in many cases is not based on academic scientific research, an inadequacy of coordinating the work of various public transport means a fare system does not meet modern requirements.