People living in rural areas SaxonySaxony-Anhalt and Thuringia often continue to use cars instead of public transport due to lack of choice. “More people are moving to cities, but not to the countryside,” said the head of the Association of Central German Bus Companies, Mario König. The reason is that the offer in rural areas is insufficient. For example, a production employee can travel to the evening shift using local public transport – but traveling home at night is not possible. “This means that switching from cars to public transport is impossible in the first place,” explains König.
Monthly passes for local public transport in rural areas usually cost no more German ticket necessary every month, explains König. “In principle, we welcome Deutschlandticket because it has made access to local public transport easier thanks to its simple fares,” said the head of the association. However, in rural areas, this does not work as intended because there are not enough trips to make optimal use of simple fares.
More passengers with D-Ticket? Not in this country
Many bus companies from Saxony meet near Halle on Wednesdays and Thursdays, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia on the 20th Central German Omnibus Day to talk about how challenges in rural areas can be overcome. Most importantly, private companies will come, but also municipal companies operating in rural areas.
“Due to rising costs, especially for energy, service and spare parts, many of these companies now have to think about how they can maintain their current offerings,” said König. In rural areas, supply shortages resulted in the opposite of what the introduction of the Deutschlandticket was intended to achieve. Namely: more passengers on public transport, even in rural areas.
The company does not see a clear political direction
When it comes down to it, the industry needs two main things: money and planning security, König said. Although it has recently become easier to find suitable staff, the funds available are not enough to make more trips and invest, for example in buying new buses with alternative drives, said the organizer of the omnibus day, Tilman Wagenknecht. “We feel like politics doesn’t know which direction to take. This makes our lives difficult,” König added.
A total of about 300 people are expected to attend on bus days, he said. Technical discussions, but also discussions with politicians, are planned. This industry meeting is supported and co-financed by the exhibitors who present their products there. “Of course it’s about networking, but it’s also about exchanging ideas about industry challenges and perhaps finding solutions together,” says Wagenknecht. One of the highlights of the event was the awards given to around 35 drivers, some of whom had been accident-free for more than 25 years. Traffic on the way.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251111-930-275642/1
