Sustainable development of passenger transport in Poland in the context of young passengers’ preference survey

The issue of reducing the adverse impact of transport on the environment has been reflected in key European transport documents. Their content clearly indicates that rail transport is more “environmentally friendly” than road transport. An increase in the number of rail passengers and, at the same time, a drop in the number of road transport passengers is consistent with the concept of sustainable development. The purpose of the article is to analyse the preferences of rail and bus passengers and use research results to enhance sustainable development. In order to achieve this aim, the method of critical analysis of available secondary research results and the survey method were adopted, with the use of a questionnaire in primary research. The author’s own research was conducted on a representative sample of 331 young passengers. On the basis of available secondary research results, the price, travel time and modern technology categories as well as elements thereof were selected for analysis. The study results may be used to formulate a strategy for sustainable development of transport, contributing to the reduction of road passenger transport in favour of rail transport.