Public transport accessibility of seniors to services of general interest on the example of primary health care in rural areas of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship

This article examines seniors’ accessibility to health care. The aim of the study was to analyse accessibility by public transport to primary health care facilities in the context of the services of general interest (SGI) concept. Four rural municipalities (with different functions) in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship were selected as the study area: Jawornik Polski, Horyniec-Zdrój, Komańcza and Gorzyce. In the first step, the demographic situation in the municipalities was described. Next, the distribution of public transportation stops in each municipality and the timetables of the carriers operating there were analysed. The highest accessibility to bus stops, measured by distance, was found in the municipalities of Komańcza and Gorzyce. On the other hand, the municipalities of Gorzyce and Jawornik Polski had the highest number of public transport services to primary healthcare facilities. Low accessibility in the municipality of Horyniec-Zdrój indicated that the provision of services of general interest may be insufficient in peripheral rural areas.