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Wiener Linien is gradually increasing the normal operation of the subway, bus and bim. Starting May 11, the subway lines will travel again at the densest intervals. A week later, with the restart for many schoolchildren on May 18, the buses and bim will return to normal operation.
In the week before, Wiener Linien was said to continue operating on April 14 – holiday hours Monday through Friday, Sunday hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Reason at that time: capacities would be sufficient, there is still a decrease in passenger numbers of around 70 percent. The “Wiener Zeitung” reported.
“With the gradual easing of the crown measures by the German government, Wiener Linien is naturally increasing his offer,” Ulli Sima (SPÖ) councilor for public transport said on Monday. “By returning to normal operations, we ensure that the Viennese have the fastest and safest mobility than usual in Vienna,” said Alexandra Reinagl, managing director of Wiener Linien. After returning to normal hours, the subway lines and bus lines and highly frequented buses return to intervals of two to three minutes. The subway will still not work at night. But night buses do.
The opposition of the city council welcomes this development. “We are pleased with the change of heart at Wiener Linien. Business considerations should play a subordinate role at times like these,” says ÖVP spokesman Manfred Juraczka. “It is good that the pace picks up again. It is important that as much as possible is now available,” says Christoph Wiederkehr, head of Neos in Vienna.
240,000 students on the move
Since May 18 in Vienna alone, more than 200,000 school-age children will return to school. Even Wiener Linien admits that this will lead to a crowd on public transportation. “We have made responsible politicians aware that distance regulation cannot be enforced at peak times. Therefore, we mainly depend on the obligation to wear a mask,” explains a spokesperson.
France is not so easy
In other countries, the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions is less relaxed. In France, for example, transport companies warn that maintaining a minimum distance between passengers would be neither manageable nor controllable. Regional politicians advocate for thousands of additional police officers to monitor entrances to major subway and long-distance stations. Resistance is also growing in the municipalities. Head of State Emmanuel Macron is asked to postpone the resumption of school classes. The project was “unsustainable and unrealistic” for time reasons. France was hit hard by the Covid 19 outbreak. There have been more than 25,000 deaths so far.
