A new bus for Jeziorki

I was astonished to see a new bus line running through Jeziorki early on Monday morning. Why, it's the 809! Resurrected? Not to the end (nie do końca). Nor indeed to the other. For the old 809 used to run from Metro Wilanowska to Nowy Podolszyn via Jeziorki. The new one runs from Ursynów Północny to Bobrowiec (!) via Jeziorki. The new 809 and the old one shared but ten bus stops in common (from Sójki to PKP Jeziorki). The new one runs south through Zamienie, down through Nowa Wola, past the big Biedronka that straddles the road from Piaseczno to Lesznowola, crossing it to terminate in Bobrowiec, far out into the deep exurbs.

A mere 12 services a day connect Ursynów Płn. with Bobrowiec (during the peaks, that's how many 709s run between Piaseczno and Wilanowska per hour). Off peak, the 809s run one every two hours. It's good to see a bus service like this running, offering an alternative to the car for people who live in the distant sticks, though the frequency adds little to the general quality of public transport. And along the way, the people of Jeziorki will benefit with the addition of several more buses to and from the metro each day.

Once the bus goes beyond Zgorzała bus stop, you are in Zone 2. Here, tickets can become expensive, especially if you need a 24-hour ticket. It is 24 złotys (rather than a mere 15 złotys or three quid that a Zone 1 ticket costs). The 20-minute ticket, good for twenty minutes of travel in either Zone 1 or Zone 2, costing 3.40 złotys, makes good sense for short explorations by bus of Warsaw's Outer Reaches.

I hope the citizens of Bobrowiec will come to use this service in sufficient numbers to merit ZTM increasing the frequency. Bearing in mind that it takes 34 minutes in rush-hour to reach the Metro at Stokłosy, and that from there one needs another 20 minutes or so to reach the city centre, the deep exurbs are starting to look less remote.

A propos of which, the opening of the S2/S79 will surely lead to a surge in property prices to the south and south-west of Warsaw, as people's journey times to work are drastically cut. Keep watching Gazeta Stołeczna's Wednesday real estate section!

S2/S79 post-script: From the taxi pulling away from ul. Trombity to arriving at Warsaw's Okęcie airport was a mere 12 minutes. I remember when the journey took 35 minutes. That's progress.

This time two years ago:
Bunker in Powiśle

This time three years ago:
Sunshine brings out the best in everything

This time four years ago:
There must be a better way (3)