Starting this autumn, residents of suburban Krakow can simply pick up the phone and order not a taxi, but a bus.

The idea of a “bus on call” was put forward by the Italians several years ago and has already proved to be a successful enterprise and serious competition for the taxi business. It is a door to door service aimed at those who live in the suburban districts of the big European cities – the areas where the public transport rarely addresses the people’s needs.

Starting from early autumn, the citizens of one of Krakow’s remote districts will only have to dial a special number and in half an hour’s time a small bus will appear at their doors. After collecting the passengers, the bus will carry them to the place from which they will be able to get to the city centre without any difficulty. The representatives of Krakow’s public transport promise that “bus on call” will be carrying even a single passenger if necessary.

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The whole project has been financed by the Italian corporation that has introduced “bus on call” service to the local markets. Additional sum of money has been given by the European Union whose one of the main objectives is the improvement of the transport conditions in big Europeans cities. It seems then that the only contribution to the project that Krakow has to make is to find some good local drivers.