News / Who will be the next President of Poland? [51]


And Tusk has very open plans to reform the Constitution and bring in a German or Italian model where the Prime Minister is the undisputed top dog. I don't think it's much of a secret that PO were waiting until Kaczynski lost the 2010 election in order to bring these reforms forward.

Of course the power is in his hands at the moment - his party controls the Government and the Presidency. But that's what you get when you win most seats in an election.

News / Who will be the next President of Poland? [51]


Proof? One ambassador to Russia doesn't mean a damn thing. Komorowski was chosen by PO members - Tusk isn't going to risk upsetting the party over something like this, unless Komorowski shows signs of actually losing the election, which is unlikely.

Of course it's possible, but why would he run for a lame duck office when the power is in the hands of the PM?

News / Who will be the next President of Poland? [51]


No he's not. Tusk has hardly made a secret of the fact that he wants the Presidency to be along the Italian or German model - a figurehead. The selection of Komorowski confirms this - that it's a job for someone reliable, stable and unemotional.

Law / i have a british learners licence valid for 10yrs can i apply 4 polish licence?? [6]


You need it under EU law - though in day to day life, not having one isn't much of a big deal. It's more of use if you intend to stay here for a while - you need the residence permit in order to get a bank loan for instance.


Only if you don't already have a PESEL - if you do, then they can add points because it's the person that gets issued with points rather than the licence. It's this reason that forces you to go to the police station to find out about your driving record - as it's attached to the person. It's not a bad idea really - stops people driving with dodgy licences obtained abroad.

Travel / POLISH PKP BAD ATTITUDE [14]

Just as I said. :)

With the railways in Poland, the old saying "you get what you pay for" is very true. This even extends to ticket windows - it's no surprise that the old idiots working for Przewozy Regionalne are far worse than those working in the service centres for Intercity.

Life / Bilet, controler and the Poland Police. [78]


Never heard of statistical analysis?

As I said - Berlin and many other cities work on exactly this principle. Guess what - they don't have a problem. And in case you hadn't noticed - most people pay.

(anyway, even if you validate a ticket upon entry, how do you control the losses when someone stays on the bus/tram for longer than allowed?)


Economics 102, which if you had attended, you would know that deregulation of public transport often leads to monopoly situations which the operators then demand subsidy to run routes. The UK, home of the deregulated market has experienced just that. It is often cheaper and more efficient to keep a service "in house" than to go private - not withstanding the fact that the private sector will very rarely fund the improvements needed by themselves.

Anyway, last time I checked, Amtrak was sucking up $2.6 billion dollars a year. You might also want to ask why the flagship MTA in New York is sucking up roughly a billion dollars a year. I mean - efficient? Hardly.


You might want to start by explaining why you subsidise public transport so much in America.

Life / Bilet, controler and the Poland Police. [78]


It's much more efficient to have an honour system than it is to install machinery. For a start, if the machine breaks - then what? Taking the tram/bus out of service is inefficient, there's a cost attached to the machinery, and it slows down the service drastically. There are buses here with 4 entrances and exits - who wants to wait 5 minutes while all the old people find their tickets or passes?

Let's not forget that a machine isn't capable of judging entitlement - so you can quite easily have people travelling on child fares, completely uncontrolled.

Let's not forget that fines are also a source of revenue - with a 200zl fine if not paid within 7 days in Poznan, it soon adds up for the transport authority.


Funnily enough, the private sector also relies on the honour system in most cases. And also, I know the concept of "subsidy" is beyond Americans, but do you really think most public transport networks can run without subsidy? The UK shows what happens when you let the private sector in - costs increase dramatically in many cases.

Life / Bilet, controler and the Poland Police. [78]


I don't even want to think about the delays to public transport caused by everyone having to validate a ticket upon entry. Even London doesn't have this system for buses and trams - it's simply not practical or efficient to check everyone. And even a significant portion of the Tube doesn't have ticket barriers.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/NewOrleansHudRedStreetcarsCanalStreet.jpg

Look at the queue here - it might work for tourists, but it just doesn't work when you have plenty of people needing to get on and off at every stop. The average tram stop is what, 15-20 seconds? If you had everyone validating tickets or passes upon entry, that time would significantly increase. And also - who the hell wants the inconvenience of having to wait behind people who can't find their ticket?

Perhaps this explains why no-one uses public transportation in America?

The only thing people complain about here is the attitude of the controllers, not the system itself.


Yes, because everyone would just carry an unvalidated ticket then. Don't forget that timed tickets are also used in some places - it's very common for people in Poznan to buy a 15 minute ticket and not bother to validate it for the first part of their journey, especially in the suburbs where you virtually never see a controller.

f stop - we do have wireless tickets, I have one :)

(incidentally, you can buy tickets using a mobile phone too, but the system is a bit crap)


Some of them are perfectly pleasant about it - let's be realistic, it's not a job that most people would want to do, given the abuse that you have to suffer.

Life / Bilet, controler and the Poland Police. [78]

My only objection is that in some places, you can't find a ticket office or machine and the drivers don't sell tickets. Take where I live - it's impossible to get a ticket anywhere within a 20 minute walk after 10pm at night. But this could be easily solved with machines on trams!

Mind you, I do have a rule - if the controllers are clearly arseholes, then I always waste their time as much as possible before giving them the ticket. If they really are paid on commission, then it'll hurt them in the pocket.

Life / Bilet, controler and the Poland Police. [78]


Not practical. Even in Poznan, it would delay the trams significantly - and given that some sections are overloaded as it is, it's just not feasible in most cases to actually do this. I believe they do this in Moscow buses, but only as a response to overwhelming fare dodging, which isn't really rife in Poland.

As for the system being useless - it works perfectly well in Berlin and many other places :)

Work / A few questions for regarding EU and Poland - worker registration [8]


It's not a Karta Pobtyu, but rather a certificate confirming your right to residence in Poland as an EU citizen.

As for paying - half the time, they aren't even bothering with collecting the 1zl.

Life / Bilet, controler and the Poland Police. [78]


In Krakow, don't they have many machines inside trams too? It's one thing that's sorely lacking from Poznan :(

Anyway, to the original poster (which obviously is Mark Biernat, but anyway) - you were caught in a moving tram without a ticket. It's fare evasion, simple as that.

News / Komorowski, acting president, is a shower! [51]

Just one thing : Poland has had 19 years of real democracy. The UK has had much, much longer. You can't compare the well oiled, efficient, time tested machinery of the UK State versus an emerging democracy in Poland - it's just not comparable.

UK, Ireland / EEA family permit from Poland to UK - time and process [60]


And even this is on the verge of being declared illegal - an EEA/CH citizen has the right of residence in any other EEA/CH country - and they are entitled to have their family members with them. But of course - they must stay with the family member. Want to flee your wife once you get into the UK? Think again, sunshine.

Romanians and Bulgarians are required to get a work permit, but this is easily avoided by simply registering as self employed.

Law / Poland's Work permit questions - visiting European countries; working in the EU / switching job; dependants [86]


You don't have a chance of getting a work permit in Poland.

News / Russian air traffic controllers ignored communication protocol of Polish pilots? [194]


And this is why I don't believe Polish-Russian relations will improve - those who are inclined to believe that the pilot couldn't make a mistake are the same ones who will blame Russia.

News / The Glory of Poland, NYT 12th April 2010 [13]


That is by no means certain. We're already seeing elements of society spew their nonsense, and society hasn't had a chance for grief to turn to anger. Maybe after the Presidential election, we'll know if Poland really has made amends - but unfortunately, I don't believe that Poland and Russia are headed towards the same kind of relationship that Poland and Germany have today.

News / Russian air traffic controllers ignored communication protocol of Polish pilots? [194]


If I remember rightly, the change was initiated from within the Communist Party. Nothing to do with trade union Catholicism at all.

News / Russian air traffic controllers ignored communication protocol of Polish pilots? [194]


Poland : Solidarity in the 1980's was as much intellectual, Gazeta Wyborcza supporters as it was Catholic Nationalist moustache worker. Many people tend to forget this little, important fact.

East Germany : It was actually more the influence of the Protestant churches than the Catholic church. The Nikolaikirche in Leipzig is a Protestant church. And let's not forget - most of the people behind Neues Forum were hardly religious - most of them wanted a "third way" between Socialism and Capitalism.

The Czech Republic? Little to do with religion - the students started it, and it turned into mass disobedience.

Yugoslavia? The only reason Yugoslavia became "free" was because Milosevic and Trudman were pulling in their own nationalist directions. Again, little to do with religion.

So tell me, what has Gazeta Wyborcza done wrong?

News / Russian air traffic controllers ignored communication protocol of Polish pilots? [194]


What less-than-stellar history is this, apart from the history of mocking Solidarity-Catholic types?

News / Will todays tragedy effect the economy of Poland? [34]

No stable government? The government is very much intact. Most people killed were of a ceremonial nature, and in fact, if Komorowski wins, it'll make Poland even more stable than before. You can even add in the fact that the replacements for most of the killed officials will be PO appointees - so the Prime Minister (and thus Government), the President and many of the top brass will all be PO affilated. If that's not stable, what is?

News / Russian air traffic controllers ignored communication protocol of Polish pilots? [194]


That's because it most likely is. The crew had a decent amount of experience behind them (fair enough, nothing compared to civilian aviation, but the two disciplines are different), the aeroplane wasn't "old" (as I saw somewhere, there's still plenty of DC-9's flying round that aren't crashing) and Polish mentality may have had absolutely nothing to do with it.

News / Russian air traffic controllers ignored communication protocol of Polish pilots? [194]

I'd trust someone involved with aviation to have half a clue about aviation.

Law / How to get a private NIP number in Poland (for a foreigner) ? [28]


Very simple - just go to the local Urzad Skarbowy for where you wish to pay tax (or the local office to where you're registered - if you are registered in Poland) and fill in a short form. You'll get it within 2-3 weeks.

News / Will todays tragedy effect the economy of Poland? [34]


It's impossible to tell. He's about the only face left within PiS that would have a chance of winning the Presidency, and given that his political career is all but over if he doesn't - he may have absolutely no choice but to attempt a run at it or retire from politics.

A lot depends on the party itself - they may very well attempt to draw a line under the Kaczynski era and put forward a young member without the baggage of old. Certainly, right now, PiS can either renew itself or stick with the old guard. But again - who is going to deny the dead President's brother a chance to win the Presidency in honour of his late brother?


It would be a complete disaster.

News / Russian air traffic controllers ignored communication protocol of Polish pilots? [194]


Using Wikipedia to prove a point proves nothing at all - you clearly don't understand the basic principle that military operations aren't bound by an organisation which sets rules for civilian flights.


Note : generally expected. I'd expect to have to use Russian when communicating with military controllers in Russia!


Is this not more a consequence of being a pilot for a plane which doesn't see much use? There's only one other TU-154 in the possession of the Polish Air Force.


Perhaps so, but at the same time, it's not unbelievable to suggest that Kaczynski ensured that only men get to fly the plane who follow orders unconditionally. Of course, it may simply have been arrogance on the part of the pilots to begin with. Or simply the realisation that missing a ceremony at Katyn would effectively mean your career would be over, especially as Russia was watching.

News / Russian air traffic controllers ignored communication protocol of Polish pilots? [194]


The fact that the Russians came very quickly out to declare there to be no technical reason for the crash is very telling, I think.

News / Who will be the next President of Poland? [51]

Jaroslaw's not an idiot - if he does indeed run, he'll bury the nasty side of his character until after the election.

One thing to bear in mind - emotional people will turn out in droves to vote for the sympathetic character, whereas unemotional people may not bother. I'm already hearing people saying that they're not going to bother voting for Komorowski because it's a formality - when it's anything but.

News / Russian air traffic controllers ignored communication protocol of Polish pilots? [194]


Speculation is that this is a dodgy translation from Russian - something to do with "final turn" meaning "fourth turn" in Russian. I don't quite get it, but it would seem that there definitely wasn't four attempts at landing, but possibly the aircraft circled the airport three times.


One item of speculation is that while the pilot could tell Kaczynski (or his aides) to get lost, it's a whole different matter if the head of the Air Force tells you to do so.

News / Who will be the next President of Poland? [51]

Too early to tell. No PiS candidate has a chance apart from Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and even then, if he announces his intention to run, PO will ensure that the election is held off as late as possible to ensure that he doesn't get as much as the sympathy vote as possible.

We may see the rise of a compromise candidate given that two out of the big three parties saw their candidates killed. It's not inconceivable that they may agree to allow someone politically neutral to stand - as it's obvious that this can't be fought like a traditional Polish (abusive) election.