Public transport

“Buses must be just as important as trains”

The B14 line from Oberwart to Eisenstadt is a prime example of express buses that make it much easier to switch to public transport.

(Bild: Büro Dorner)

At the speakers' conference, Burgenland goes full throttle for the expansion of public transport, especially when it comes to the road network.

The new B14 line from Oberwart via Oberpullendorf and Mattersburg to Eisenstadt is well underway. In operation since September 2023, the bus is now used by an average of 2,500 passengers per week.

Co-financing for express buses
In line with these modern requirements, Infrastructure Councillor Heinrich Dorner (SPÖ) will be speaking at the conference of regional transport officers in Innsbruck on Friday. By means of a motion, he wants to push for co-financing from the federal government for express bus routes to the conurbations.

"Equal status to rail transport"
Linked to this is the demand that "bus transport must have the same status as rail transport". It goes without saying that Dorner considers it positive that the federal government is fulfilling its responsibility for local rail passenger transport in all regions where the conditions are right and is assuming a large part of the funding for these services.

The co-financing of bus routes by the federal government is a prerequisite for integrating peripheral regions and achieving climate protection goals.

Landesrat Heinrich Dorner

Bild: Karl Grammer

 "However, in many rural areas it has been shown that customized mobility solutions can be implemented better and more efficiently with the use of buses. So far, however, these services have mainly been financed by the federal states," says Dorner.

Funding only at the beginning
For a number of already disadvantaged regions, this is a gross disadvantage. Currently, federal funding is only provided for local authorities for the design and initial years of operation of demand-responsive mobility solutions.

All federal states have already approached the Climate Protection Minister with a request for more financial aid from 2022: "We expect the federal government to provide even more support for our climate-friendly projects."