World Carfree Day is held in Poland, coinciding with Public Transportation Days, but are Poles ready to abandon their cars in favor of public transportation, walking and bicycles?

Joanna Najfeld reports

World Carfree Day is held for the fourth time in Poland and for the tenth time in Europe. It has been initiated by French environmentalists. They wanted to convince people around the globe about the negative side effects of using cars. That's why every year on September 22, drivers are encouraged not to get on their cars, but use public transportation, bicycles, or just walking instead.

Wojciech Makowski of the Civil Affairs Instistute says World Carfree Day is an occasion to think if we really need a car every day: 'This should be a positive day, a day when we reclaim the public space, which is presently more and more taken over by cars, so we can walk around the city in a nice atmosphere or travel around it in a more eco-friendly way.'

Marcin Myszkowski is a cyclist. He lives in Warsaw and regularly moves around the capital on his bike. Maybe more people would join him if only the streets of Warsaw were more adopted for cyclists: 'Riding on a bicycle in Warsaw is not as easy as in other cities of Europe, because there are not enough bicycle paths in the city center. But the situation is slowly, slowly changing so I hope that in a few years Warsaw will join other European cities in bike-friendliness.'

Over a hundred Polish cities officially join the World Carfree Day campaign every year, by allowing drivers with valid registration documents to use public transportation for free.

However, despite the effort, many drivers still choose the comfort of their own vehicles over the idea. Many others, like these drivers on the streets of Lublin, eastern Poland, haven't even heard about World Carfree Day:
 
[MAN] 'I haven't heard about this campaign.'
[MAN] 'Me neither.'
[MAN] 'Honestly, I cannot imagine this.'

The idea of World Carfree Day is also meant to decrease the levels of noise and air pollution. But still, it is those people who join the campaign, who will have to inhale the fumes today, cycling or walking to work. Biking enthusiast Marcin Myszkowski argues that air pollution is actually worse for drivers in their cars: 'It's healthier to ride a bicycle than a car because when you move, you're always more healthy. The air that you breathe is the same when you write a bicycle or a car, but you're riding a bicycle, your blood is circulating faster and you can get rid of the toxins from your blood faster.'

Those who are still not convinced are of course encouraged to choose public transportation over private cars, walking or biking. Over the weekend, Warsaw's public transportation services opened their doors for curious passengers. Warsaw's Days of Public Transport offered presentations of modern and retro buses, trams and trains: 'This is a perfect occasion to get to know public transportation from behind the scenes, to see the places which you normally don't get to see, such as the technical station of the Warsaw underground,' said Igor Krajnow of the Warsaw public transportation services.

Has all this encouraged the residents of Warsaw to abandon their vehicles? Looking outside the window I can tell you that it doesn't look like it has. The rainy weather seems to have been more convincing.