Commuters in a political traffic jam

Many commuters stuck in a political traffic jam

(Bild: NÖ Regional/Weber)

Black against green: Teschl-Hofmeister criticizes Minister Gewessler for "frozen" mileage allowance and unpunctuality at ÖBB. Red against blue: Weninger demands cab solutions from Landbauer.

Lower Austria is a land of commuters. And two thirds of them still make their daily journey to work by car. No wonder that state councillor Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister (ÖVP) chose a notorious traffic jam route in St. Pölten for her latest information campaign in her "sideline" as NÖAAB chairwoman. On Purkersdorfer Straße, one of the most important entrances to the city, she eagerly handed out snack bags to drivers on Tuesday together with National Councillor Fritz Ofenauer and the black Vice President of the Chamber of Labor, Josef Hager.

As dessert, so to speak, there were of course also demands of a political nature: Teschl-Hofmeister wants to campaign for an increase in the official mileage allowance, among other things. "This has not been increased since 2008!" This is despite the fact that fuel prices and inflation are increasingly eating into the margins for employees who rely on their private cars for business trips.

Demands and breakfast: Teschl-Hofmeister at the information campaign of "her" NÖAAB on the St. Pölten traffic jam route.

(Bild: NÖAAB)

Green Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler got her fill of butter croissants & co.: "The working population makes an important contribution to the economy and society every day. It is only fair that they should be relieved accordingly. Especially as ÖBB still hasn't got the problems with the timetable under control," emphasized Hager.

Shared cab subsidy extended for the time being after all
The Freedom Party's Udo Landbauer had also recently massively criticized the ÖBB, which annoyed the SPÖ: "The FPÖ politician Landbauer is getting upset about the Transport Minister Landbauer," said the Social Democrats, putting the ball in the court of the provincial governor. The fact that he recently wanted to reintroduce the so-called comfort surcharge on shared cab journeys is another red rag for the Reds.

The state has been annoying public transport users and local authorities alike with its promotion of shared cabs.

Hannes Weninger, SPÖ-Klubchef

Bild: SPÖ NÖ

Now, however, the state government has at least extended the relevant funding until the end of May - a success that the SPÖ is, of course, taking credit for. "However, insight is only the first step towards improvement," says municipal spokesman Wolfgang Kocevar, calling for a long-term solution so that "commuting does not become even more expensive."