The article was based on research work carried out as part of the INTERREG III B CADSES Community Initiative project with the acronym CORELOG (“Coordinated Regional Logistics”). The CORELOG project was implemented between 2005 and 2007, led by the Italian region of Emilia Romagna, and brought together partners from Poland, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, and Greece.
One of the primary goals of manufacturing, service, and manufacturing-service enterprises is profit maximization. The level of profit achieved by an enterprise is influenced by many factors, including the efficient organization of transport processes. Its main goal is to ensure fluidity in the execution of current orders while rationalizing total logistics costs for a set level of customer service. Consequently, most companies use road transport in their daily operations, characterized by short delivery times, the possibility of providing “door-to-door” services, competitive pricing, and flexibility. However, the efficient organization of transport processes involves the problem of route planning and the selection of vehicles for specific tasks. Poor management of transport processes in a company can lead to very serious financial consequences. The organization of a transport system in an enterprise also has a direct impact on traffic intensity in the region where the company is active. It is worth remembering that the main disadvantage of road transport, perceived by all road users, is undoubtedly increased traffic congestion. According to the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways, traffic on roads in the Greater Poland region (Wielkopolska) has increased by over 30% in recent years. The direct effect of growing traffic congestion is the deterioration of existing road infrastructure and a decrease in road safety levels. One must also remember the harmful effects of exhaust fumes on the natural environment and carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, it can be assumed that increasing the load factor of vehicles in companies in the Greater Poland region could also have a significant impact on reducing the number of vehicles carrying out, for example, deliveries to a given company. Apart from short access road sections to warehouse facilities, built along with these facilities, and railway sidings on land belonging to the enterprises using them, transport infrastructure is not property belonging to the sphere of logistics, but belongs to the public sphere. The public nature of transport infrastructure consists of making it available to various groups of users. The logistics sphere uses it during the implementation of logistics processes and the provision of logistics services in parallel with other users who use it for their own needs. Hence, it is important to take actions to limit the use of public transport infrastructure for the transport of goods while maintaining the goals for which it is used.
Traffic intensity of vehicles in Greater Poland against the national background
<\/strong>Approximately 9.0% of enterprises operating in Poland are located in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The pillars of the region’s economy are a diversified industry, high-yield agriculture, and an extensive network of services, especially financial and commercial. The high social activity of the region has resulted in a rapid increase in the number of business entities. Their number is currently around 324,000, which gives the voivodeship 3rd place in the country, and over 4,500 enterprises are companies with foreign capital participation. More than 40 Greater Poland companies have made it onto the list of the 500 largest enterprises in Poland. The diversification of production, agriculture, and services, as well as the gradually, albeit too slowly, modernized and expanded transport infrastructure, create favorable conditions for the further development of Greater Poland. However, this development has also influenced the increase in heavy goods vehicle traffic on the region’s roads. According to the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways, the average daily traffic (ADT) of motor vehicles on the national road network was 8,224 vehicles/day and was about 18% higher compared to 2000. The load of motor vehicle traffic was not uniform across the entire network but increased with the growing importance of roads in the functional layout. On international roads, the ADT in 2005 was 13,561 vehicles/day, while on other national roads it was 5,990 vehicles/day.
Analyzing the average daily traffic of vehicles on national roads, it is noticeable that the Greater Poland Voivodeship ranks fourth with an average load of 9,842 vehicles/day. In the case of traffic on international roads, the average load was 13,737 vehicles/day, which puts Greater Poland in 7th place among all voivodeships. Averaging the above data, it can be stated that in 2005, a 16% increase in vehicle traffic was observed compared to 2000.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2/2008.