Faster bus lines

Bim to Lower Austria is history before it even exists

It will be years before a streetcar runs to Schwechat. We will see whether it is still necessary at all.(Bild: Manfred Helmer)

In the (distant) future, the 72 line was supposed to run beyond Vienna's city limits to Lower Austria. But Landbauer (FPÖ), the regional transport councillor, and Baier (SPÖ), the mayor of Schwechat, don't want to keep commuters waiting that long. Their motto: bus instead of streetcar!  

Lower Austria's Transport Minister Udo Landbauer (FPÖ) has put an end for the time being to the - at least so far - truly never-ending story about the extension of the underground and streetcar beyond Vienna's city limits. Specifically, it is about the announced Bim to Schwechat.

Buses every 10 minutes
Instead, the regional bus service between the airport city and the U3 station in Simmering will be expanded. "This is an uncomplicated solution that will benefit thousands of commuters and schoolchildren," Landbauer and Schwechat Mayor Karin Baier (SPÖ) agree. Specifically, the lines 217 and 218 from Himberg via Rannersdorf and Zwölfaxing, which previously ran every hour, will run every ten minutes in future.

We are not opponents of the rail option, but we want to create an optimal solution for 130,000 people in the Schwechat catchment area quickly and unbureaucratically.

Verkehrslandesrat Udo Landbauer (FPÖ) und die Schwechater Bürgermeisterin Karin Baier (SPÖ)

Is a streetcar even necessary?
Implementation is possible from fall 2026, i.e. at least two years before the earliest possible completion of the streetcar line to Schwechat. Landbauer: "Then we will evaluate whether the 150 million euro streetcar project is even necessary."