From Friday, 24 May, an electric bus was tested on the route to Morskie Oko. The tests assessed the battery's endurance, the vehicle's performance on mountain roads with inclines, the number of trips possible between charges and the charging time required.

Testing the electric bus on this tarmac route is a key component of the agreement between Polish Highlanders, who organise horse transport, and animal rights activists. The activists have long protested against the strenuous work demanded of the horses, which pull carriages even in the hottest weather when tourist numbers are high.

The right to transport tourists from Palenica Białczańska to Morskie Oko Lake, a distance of nine kilometres, is held by 60 fiacre drivers from Bukowina Tatrzańska. The Tatra National Park grants them the licence for this transport. During holidays or long weekends, up to 10,000 people visit the small lake daily. In 2023, the renowned Tatra mountain refuge saw nearly 700,000 visitors, with some transported by the 300 horses working the route.

In an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza, Stanisław Gąsienica-Kotelnicki, the bus driver, highlighted the noiselessness of the electric bus's engine. The bus made up to four trips on a single charge, though the driver noted that it could cover the distance six times on one battery charge. The electric vehicles have a recuperation system, allowing the bus to recover energy when driving downhill. Over this distance, up to four per cent of the battery can be regenerated.

The driver mentioned that the only 'drawback' of the vehicle was its silent operation. However, this is hardly a disadvantage from the perspective of the wild animals living in the Tatra National Park. Gąsienica-Kotelnicki explained to pap.pl: "Because this is a national park area, we do not use the horn here. Sometimes, we had to shout through an open window to get tourists off the road, especially when it was raining."

Zbigniew Kowalski from TPN commented on the electric bus tests for pap.pl: "We will conduct a detailed summary of the tests in the next few days and address all the feedback from the drivers. One definite issue is that the vehicle only has space for one wheelchair."

In response to this "issue," numerous comments have questioned how many wheelchairs the horse-drawn carriages can accommodate. No such information is available on the Association of Transporters to Morskie Oko website or the TPN website, where the regulations for horse-drawn transport are listed.

Hikers with disabilities are permitted to drive to Morskie Oko in their own cars after notifying TPN in advance. In 2018, between Christmas and New Year's Eve, then 5-year-old Arek Sadłoń managed to reach the lake in a wheelchair using his own hands and the assistance of his parents. As the boy's mother recalled in an interview with krakow.wyborcza.pl: "At the end of the route, he was even slightly disappointed that it was over so quickly."