The borders of transport associations with uniform tariffs are often based on districts. That doesn't always make it easy for travelers. Is there a wave of mergers coming?
St. Blasien/Stuttgart (dpa/lsw) - Anyone who sets off from the bus station in the Black Forest town of St. Blasien on the way to Freiburg is given two tickets: one for the bus in the Waldshut fare zone to Seebrugg am Schluchsee, and another one for the following S-Bahn journey to Freiburg in the local Regio-Verkehrsverbund Freiburg (RVF).
Users realize that they are crossing borders when they travel - those of transport associations. Passengers can also opt for a continuous ticket in the so-called bwtarif. But for a standard trip on the St. Blasien - Seebrugg - Freiburg route, this is significantly more expensive than the tickets that have been pieced together. The kilometers traveled are used as a basis, as reported by the Baden-Württemberg-Tarif GmbH.
However, many residents of the Black Forest do not need a double ticket for the Freiburg trip. They drive their car to Seebrugg in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district, and then board the train. "Everyone has a car here," said St. Blaise Mayor Adrian Probst of the German Press Agency.
The CDU politician advocated planning cross-border traffic. This applies to both district and state borders. "Switzerland is also an issue for us: the nearest airport from here is Zurich," said the 33-year-old.
They work well together with the Waldshuter Tarifverbund (WTV): "But there are no drivers, there is no money," Probst said. "I am very much in favor of reducing the number of transport associations," was his conclusion.
Other people in charge think like Probst. In Baden-Württemberg, there are many transport associations compared to other countries. On January 1st, the new Black Forest-Baar-Heuberg network will cross the previous boundaries of the districts of Rottweil, Black Forest-Baar and Tuttlingen. There will then be a uniform tariff called “Move”, which is intended to make it easier to get into local public transport.
With the merger in the south of the country, the number of regional associations will decrease by 2 to 19, as a spokeswoman for the Stuttgart Ministry of Transport said on request. There are also considerations for changes in other areas, for example in Pforzheim, Schwäbisch-Hall and Heilbronn.
The unions are under pressure. There are major challenges such as the 49-euro ticket for local buses and trains, which may be introduced on April 1st. On the other hand, there are significant investments in modern technology, for example for up-to-date traffic information for passengers.
The head of the Stuttgart Transport and Tariff Association (VVS), Thomas Hachenberger, is convinced that the trend towards mergers will go far. "I can imagine that there will still be around ten associations in a few years' time," said Hachenberger, who is also spokesman for the associations in the southwest.
