Since May

The hiking buses in Tennengau have been at a standstill

Public transport in Tennengau was massively expanded with the timetable change in December. The 13 municipalities have therefore decided to dispense with the hiking buses in future.(Bild: EXPA/ JFK)

Public transport services in the Tennengau region were shortened with the timetable change in December. Journeys to popular excursion destinations fell victim to these additional costs. 

Travel by bus to a hike, walk up a mountain and then take a comfortable ride home again: This has been possible in Tennengau in recent years. In the summer months, destinations such as the Trattberg or the Postalm were served by so-called hiking buses. In fact, existing routes were simply extended at the weekends. "Now, unfortunately, the buses no longer run. It's a real mess," reports a Krone reader.

The decision was made by the financing municipalities
Christian Steiner, Managing Director of the Tennengau Regional Association, explains: "The increased frequency of public transport in Tennengau has tripled the costs for the municipalities. That's why the municipalities have decided to stop funding the hiking buses." The 13 members of the regional association have made a conscious decision to use the money for routes that are used daily by commuters.

(Bild: SVV)

Although the hiking buses were reasonably well filled on nice days, on bad days they ran empty to the end points such as Hintertrattberg - and of course these had to be paid for in the same way.

Costs for the villages increase every year
In total, the 13 municipalities have to pay three million euros a year for the public transport connections. "And these costs will continue to rise over the next few years because the support from the state is decreasing," says Steiner.

The state of Salzburg is now supporting 90 percent of the additional costs for the new service in the first year. Next year it will only be 80 percent and even less in the following years. This means that the municipalities will have to expect even more expenditure on public transport in the coming years.

Of course, this is not very satisfactory for the hikers: "I understand that. But the buses should still be put back into operation and tourism has to pay for it," says the reader. Public transport should become more attractive for him in all areas. This clearly applies to commuters as well as tourist guests who want to get to the hiking areas in an environmentally friendly way.