Transport and geographical position of Leningrad - St. Petersburg in the passenger transportation system

The article deals with the geographic and transport position that Leningrad – St. Petersburg takes in the passenger transportation system, which differs to a great extent from its position in the system of freight transportation and undergoes considerable changes with time. The time period under analysis is from the 1950s to the 1960s and to the present moment. The transformation of Leningrad – St. Petersburg position in the system of airline passenger transportation is studied by means of 1) the coefficient of transportation connectivity method (the CTC method) developed by the author of the article and 2) passenger transportation zoning covering those territories which are connected with the city by airline and railway transportation facilities. The greatest attention is paid to the transportation zoning of the former Soviet Union, and this let us to rely on the obtained data in studying other cities’ airline connections through the coefficient of transportation connectivity method. The undertaken comparing of passenger airline destinations through decades shows which transportation destinations ensured the maximum growth in passenger transportation in Leningrad – St. Petersburg in the late 1980s and which ones provided for the sharp decline or decrease in the 1990s. It can also be noted that Pulkovo airport passenger transportation is currently increasing mostly due to the western destinations than the eastern ones.