Reservation impossible

Cyclist thrown off the train despite valid ticket!

Rail travel by bike - often not an easy undertaking.

(Bild: lorenzophotoprojects - stock.ado)

A cyclist from Burgenland travels from Vienna to Graz and is thrown off the train in Lower Austria. What sounds like a joke turned out to be bitterly serious for a 47-year-old.

Wiener Neustadt was the last stop for an ÖBB passenger. The man was thrown off the train here despite having a valid ticket. "I had to travel from Vienna to Graz for work, so I had bought a weekly ticket for me and my bike," says the 47-year-old. However, he not only needed a ticket for his bike, but also a parking space reservation.

He was unable to book this either in the online store or via the ÖBB app. "Technically, this is only possible for newly purchased one-way tickets," says the Burgenlander. Under time pressure, the convinced public transport driver boarded the early train to Styria. In the hope of solving his problem on the train. But he had not reckoned with the conductor.

What annoys me most is the complete ignorance of the staff. A solution could have been found with a minimum of willpower.

Der Betroffene zur „Krone“

Passenger was harassed
According to the passenger, the conductor was not exactly helpful. "I was immediately snapped at that I should have booked in advance," said the passenger. When he asked how he was supposed to do this, he received a non-service-oriented answer: "I don't care how it works, I don't need to know anything about it," he is said to have shouted at the 47-year-old. And threw the disgruntled customer off the train in Wiener Neustadt, threatening to call the police.

How the railroad takes a stand
ÖBB confirmed the incident in response to an inquiry from "Krone", stating that "it was not possible to take the bike on board without a reservation, as all bike spaces were reserved". "Although there were still free spaces available from Vienna, more bikes with reservations were added from Wiener Neustadt and Mürzzuschlag."

It is pointed out that parking space reservations for season ticket holders are only possible "via our staffed sales channels". This refers to ticket counters and the telephone hotline. However, neither was manned when the Railjet departed at 5.58 a.m. ...