Linz Linien GmbH has a new chairman of the supervisory board. On Monday, the new Deputy Mayor, Traffic Officer Martin Hajart (VP), was unanimously appointed. He succeeds the former Deputy Mayor Markus Hein (FP), who has since retired from city politics.
Hajart said on Tuesday that value was placed on a “needs-based expansion and optimization” of public transport. Three projects are central to this: the planned trolleybus lines 47 and 48, bus lines 13 and 14 and the district bus line 150 on the Pöstlingberg.
The planned district bus is to be understood as a kind of reinforcement for the Pöstlingbergbahn. In the past, as is well known, there have been several discussions about clock compression. The planning for this was already started under Hajart’s pre-predecessor Hein. Line 150 is to run from Landgutstraße via the Bruckner University and the Tiergarten to Nöbauerstraße (Gramastetten municipality).
This offer is a reaction to the developments in this area (keyword residential construction), according to Mayor Klaus Luger (SP), who is also Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Linz AG. Areas for which the Pöstlingbergbahn is not attractive due to the distance are also being developed. A financing decision by the city of Linz is still pending. Jutta Rinner, CEO of Linz AG, expects annual operating costs of around 300,000 euros, and no new buses would have to be purchased for this line.
Financing agreements are still missing
For the planned trolleybus lines 47 and 48, however, 16 new trolleybuses are required, for lines 13 and 14 14 new buses have to be purchased. A concession has so far only been applied for for the trolleybus lines. The financing agreements are still open. The state participates in the trolleybus lines, lines 13 and 14 are financed by the city of Linz alone. According to current calculations, the investment costs for the first are around 69 million euros, for the second around 19.5 million euros, according to Rinner. In addition to the vehicles, investments must also be made in the infrastructure (bus stops, etc.). The annual operating costs for the trolleybus lines would be around 6.9 million euros, for lines 13 and 14 around 4.2 million euros.
When the operation of the individual connections can be started is open. From the time the financing agreements are reached, Line 150 could be ready in a year, and the other lines in three years, said Linz AG Director General Erich Haider. The delivery times of the buses and any delays would also play an important role, added Rinner.
Strong drop in passenger numbers
In addition to the projects, information was provided on general key figures of the Linz Linien: Despite the recovery, the number of passengers is far from the pre-Corona level. If more than 110 million passengers were normally counted per year, in 2021 it was only 70 million. The traces are also visible in the finances: According to Haider, Linz Linien had a turnover of around 110 million euros in the previous year, and Corona resulted in a minus of 13 million euros in sales. The departure was around 45 million euros. It is regrettable that the company has not received any corona aid, but the last word has not yet been spoken.
Source: Nachrichten
