Service on the rise

50,000 customers use shared call cabs

Provincial councillor Heinrich Dorner, VBB boss Wolfgang Werderits, works councillor Sigrid Spirk with anniversary guest Peter Zartler.

(Bild: Schulter Christian)

The Burgenland public transport company has drawn a positive balance. The versatile BAST service has been well received. From July, the planned nationwide service will be expanded even further. "The aim is to make it easier to switch to public transport", they emphasize.

Provincial Transport Councillor Heinrich Dorner and the Managing Director of Verkehrsbetriebe Burgenland (VBB), Wolfgang Werderits, are extremely satisfied with the development of the Burgenland call-and-collect cab (BAST). They have now welcomed their 50,000th passenger.

Jabinger commutes to Vienna
Peter Zartler from Jabing usually travels from his hometown to Großpetersdorf to the Park & Ride area and from there on to Vienna on the B01 line.

Up to 400 passengers per day
"The completely new BAST system is becoming more and more popular every week. Up to 400 passengers a day now use the call-and-collect cab in the southern districts and in central Burgenland," says Dorner. He has high praise for Werderits and his team, who work tirelessly.

The BAST vehicles as an alternative for commuters.

(Bild: Christian Schulter)

BAST soon also in Mattersburg
The next chapter opens at the beginning of the summer months. BAST will then also be launched in the Mattersburg district. The details will be presented at the end of this week. However, the population can also look forward to innovations in the existing BAST regions.

From July 1, service times will be extended from the current Monday to Friday to Saturday and Sunday. "The newly included district of Mattersburg will start immediately with service times from Monday to Sunday," the regional councillor adds. By the end of this year or the beginning of 2025, the BAST is also set to start operating in the districts of Eisenstadt-Umgebung and Neusiedl am See.

Attractive alternative for commuters
The aim is to make it easier to switch to public transport. Dorner: "Our goal is clear. We want to ensure that public transport is available throughout the entire country. Tailor-made offers with new bus routes in combination with the BAST are there to offer many commuters an attractive alternative to the car and to save a lot of money by switching to public transport."

Taxi in Ollersdorf

BAST fährt nun auch im „Gallischen Dorf“

A political dispute has been raging in Ollersdorf for some time because of the shared call cabs. As reported, the vehicles initially did not stop there - as the only municipality in southern and central Burgenland.

Fuss about costs
ÖVP mayor Bernd Strobl did not want to bear the costs of installing the bus stop signs. In response, SPÖ Deputy Mayor Tanja Illedits declared that she would cover the costs. Although it was unanimously decided in the municipal council that municipal workers would put up the boards, nothing happened at first.

The SPÖ then criticized again. Now some ÖVP functionaries took it upon themselves to erect the boards. The reason given in a Facebook post was that the municipal workers were busy clearing up after the flood.

Chaus with processes
It was also criticized that the municipality had received an invoice for the boards, although the SPÖ had stated that they had already been paid for. "It's just very chaotic," said local leader Strobl smugly.

"Last class spectacle"
Deputy Mayor Illedits countered that the invoice had been addressed to her by email to the municipality and had not been forwarded: "What the ÖVP is doing is a last-class political spectacle."