Sorin Mihăilescu

Mobility is an essential condition for ensuring the functionality of urban areas. This study analyses the transportation preferences of the inhabitants of Petroșani, a small city integrated into a conurbation with former mining functions (the Petroșani Basin). Data were collected based on household surveys and interviews regarding mobility behaviour. To evaluate travel patterns, the study applies three statistical methods: descriptive analysis, the χ² (Chi-square) test and Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA). The results indicate significant variations according to gender and the demographic segments analysed (children, adolescents, students, active population, retirees). The MCA model explains 39.3% of the total inertia (Dim1 = 20.9%, Dim2 = 18.4%). The results indicate that the active population occupies a central position, characterized by a diversified mix of transport modes, while other segments present polarized modal behaviours. At a general level, the analysis highlights a clear prevalence of personal car use and pedestrian travel in Petroșani, underlining the need for local mobility policies adapted to the characteristics of the conurbation.

Public transport is one of the most important functions of a city, which can have a major impact on the elements that support sustainable development: society, the environment and the economy. In order for residents and tourists of the Petrosani Basin to benefit from a predictable, systematized public transport system with well-established travel times, it is necessary to analyze some current factors and trends regarding public transport in the Petrosani Basin. This prospective study confirms that the use of the public transport system in the Petrosani Basin is decreasing, a decrease mainly associated with the lack of spatial accessibility, comfort and safety for passengers (inappropriate stations, the lack of air conditioning in means of transport, the lack of a modern fare system, the lack of means of information in the stations, etc.) but also with the change in people’s attitudes imposed by the protective measures taken as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. However, it should be noted that the public transport system in the Petrosani Basin is strongly influenced by the geographical characteristics of the Petrosani Basin, by the sharp decrease in the population (a negative natural increase and a reduction in the school population) and by the increase in the number of private cars.

Public transport is one of the most important functions of a city, which can have a major impact on the elements that support sustainable development: society, the environment and the economy. In order for residents and tourists of the Petrosani Basin to benefit from a predictable, systematized public transport system with well-established travel times, it is necessary to analyze some current factors and trends regarding public transport in the Petrosani Basin. This prospective study confirms that the use of the public transport system in the Petrosani Basin is decreasing, a decrease mainly associated with the lack of spatial accessibility, comfort and safety of passengers (inappropriate stations, lack of air conditioning in means of transport, lack of a modern fare system, the lack of means of information in the stations, etc.) but also with the change in people's attitude imposed by the protective measures taken as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. However, it should be noted that the public transport system in the Petrosani Basin is strongly influenced by the geographical characteristics of the Petrosani Basin, by the sharp decrease in the population (negative natural increase; reduction of the school population) but also by the increase in the number of private cars.

The paper addresses the problem of urban road noise, in the context of the European legislative requirements regarding noise pollution. The second noise mapping in Pitesti city, revealed that despite the proposed action plan after the first noise mapping, the noise pollution increased instead of decreasing. Considering that the proposed measures were insufficient to control road noise in the conditions of the estimated increase in road traffic, the authors developed complex research to identify how the road noise level is determined by the way of regulation of road traffic at intersections of the residential zone. Thus, noise and traffic measurements are made at the main road intersections in the central part of the city, determining the most relevant noise indicators for the specifics of urban traffic and residential areas. The results obtained lead to the conclusion that roundabouts bring a reduction in noise pollution compared to traffic light intersections only if the speed of vehicles in the roundabout is predictable: on preselected lanes and with speed timing.

Sustainable public transport requires finding a balance between economic and social objectives, ensuring the need for mobility without damaging environmental and health factors. At the level of the Petroșani Basin, the aim is to ensure the mobility of passengers as quickly as possible from one city to another (from east to west - Petrila, Petroșani, Aninoasa, Vulcan, Lupeni, Uricani) or from one part of the city to another, as the case may be. The study of population fluctuations by hours, on working or non-working days, per season allows the realization of a public transport that ensures the movement of people as quickly and safely as possible. The purpose of this paper is to study the way in which public transport is carried out in the Petroșani Basin, the means of transport used and the possibilities to improve this activity. In the context of sustainable mobility, the paper includes necessary aspects (transport demand, influencing factors, infrastructure) in order to conclude on the future of public transport in the Petroșani Basin.

The article addresses the issue of disclosing Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) issues by corporations in Romania, under the influence of recent changes in the legislative framework imposed by the adoption of the EU Directive 2014/95/EU on non-financial reporting by large corporations exceeding 500 employees. The goal of our study consist in determining the relevant factors that influence the level of the Romanian companies’ OHS disclosure. To this end, we have compiled a sample of 35 organizations that have elaborated and published non-financial reports during 2016–2017 and we have analysed the impact of some relevant determinants upon the reporting phenomenon. With the aim of providing a clear picture of the regional context of our study, we put together many pieces of information regarding the corporations that played the trend-setters role in Romania, by disclosing corporate social responsibility (CSR)/sustainability reports between 2003 and 2017, although this practice has been characterized by a voluntary and unsteady approach in many cases. The importance of outlining the regional context of the Romanian reporting companies is given by the urge to raise the local managers’ level of awareness towards sustainability issues and to use the recent legislative changes as opportunities to catch up with more advanced EU countries. The research methods used in order to identify the interdependencies established between the key factors involved in the disclosure practices included a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach, and referred to: content analysis of sustainability reports; descriptive analysis of the statistical variables which were taken into consideration; correlation analysis of numerical variables; and the ANOVA method for investigating the interdependencies between the categorical and numerical variables. Among the influencing factors that impact with a greater or lesser intensity the quality of OHS reporting performed by the local companies, the following were highlighted: the corporations’ market share, their field of activity, and the ownership structure.

Nowadays, in Romania, companies with more than 500 employees are covered by Directive 95/2014, which urges large firms to show transparency and to publish periodically a non-financial report on their operations. According to GRI 403, this type of document will display a large volume of data on occupational health & safety (OHS) issues: OHS management system establishment, workers‘ participation and consultation on OHS issues, work-related risk assessment, trainings carried out on OHS topics, KPI indicators etc. In line with these tendencies, our paper analyzes a representative sample of Romania reporting companies which have already drawn up and communicated non-financial reports. The main purpose is to substantiate a composite OHS index in order to quantify the Romanian managers’ awareness towards the OHS issues.

Economic development is closely linked to the mobility needs of communities. The main pillars supporting sustainable development are society, the environment and the economy, and the diagnosis of the current situation, the identification of solutions, the development plans and their implementation lead to sustainable development in terms of transport activity. As the Petroşani Basin has a high degree of urbanization, the negative effects of increased road traffic are particularly pronounced in the central areas of the cities. Of the environmental factors, air is the most obvious and most important factor in human health. Taking into account the national and European Community targets in terms of climate change mitigation, the reduction of air and noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions is becoming a priority objective. Thus, by limiting the growth of road traffic and the adoption of strategic measures in the Petroşani Basin, a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter levels will also be achieved. According to these trends, achieving a clean public transport system and sustainable (like electrical buses) and having infrastructure for the use of electric bicycles and trotters can do for sure reducing the pollutant emissions.