Concern in Innsbruck

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Increasing safety on buses and trains is the aim of a motion that was tabled in Innsbruck's local council around a month ago. The violent attack on a girl gives it added urgency.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

A streetcar set reportedly served as a refuge for a 14-year-old girl from two extremely aggressive girls. Not the first case, as reported by a local councillor in Innsbruck. It is unlikely that the left-wing city government will go along with his request for more safety on buses and streetcars. 

The fate of the 14-year-old girl who fled from two violent girls into a streetcar, where she was able to draw attention to her plight with the international help sign, is the talk of the town, and not just in Innsbruck. This is not the first incident of this kind, reports List Fritz local councillor Tom Mayer: "In conversations with young people, but also older people, it has become clear that bullying and threats are part of everyday life on Innsbruck's public transport system. While many comparable cities have already reacted and have security staff on public transport, especially in the evenings and at night, we have a lot of catching up to do here in Innsbruck!", says the Innsbruck mandatary with conviction.

At the latest after the knife attack in Villach, it is high time to ensure a greater sense of security on Innsbruck's public transport system. Verbal and physical threats are unfortunately a daily occurrence.

Thomas Mayer, Liste-Fritz-Gemeinderat in Innsbruck

14-year-old girl mobbed and spat at
On 23 January this year, just under a month before the case that has now become public, he submitted a motion to the local council to increase safety on the buses: "The specific incident was threats against my 14-year-old daughter, who was sitting on the bus with a friend and was mobbed, insulted and even spat at by previously unknown people," reports Mayer. "It can't be right that passengers have to get used to increasingly frequent abuse. That's an alarm signal!"

GR Thomas Mayer

(Bild: MacPro Archiv)

Motion with concrete proposals
Intention of the motion: As the owner's representative, BM Johannes Anzengruber should instruct Innsbruck's public transport company to immediately develop a safety concept for buses and streetcars. This should include the deployment of security staff on buses and streetcars and at stops, as well as training for staff in dealing with conflicts. Mayer also suggests increased video surveillance, particularly in public transport itself, at stops and other critical points, as well as better lighting, "so that the sense of security can be strengthened".

Little hope that the coalition will see reason
"As the father of a daughter who, together with friends, is repeatedly confronted with threats and harassment, it is important to me that something changes here as soon as possible," emphasizes Mayer in the "Krone" interview. However, he doesn't really have high hopes: "Anything that Mayor Anzengruber's left-wing Caprese coalition doesn't have in its own election bible will be mercilessly voted down," he knows from experience. "Yet other cities have long since shown that things can be done differently and that improving safety is the order of the day."