Bad planning?

Public transport gridlock in three inner-city districts

Wiedner Hauptstraße: the Bim tracks have been deserted all summer.(Bild: Martin A. Jöchl)

Margareten is barely accessible by public transport, the 13 A is blocked in Neubau and the U4 is being tinkered with again, as it is every year. 

The public transport chaos is complete this summer - we have reported on it several times. Some parts of Vienna are literally cut off from the public transport network. Some of the closures are unavoidable - like the one on the U4 line (closed in the 1st district between Schwedenplatz and Schottenring), which is already being tinkered with again.

Other construction sites could probably have been avoided. Such as the short route of the important 13 A connection. The reason for the interruption: the paving in Neubaugasse, which was laid only four years ago, could not withstand the buses weighing several tons.

The damage will now be repaired until July 26. During the repair work, the section from Burggasse to Mariahilfer Straße is closed to traffic.

The 13 A. It comes from Josefstadt, stops again in Neubau and has to turn around.(Bild: Kathi Mötzl)

Criticism comes from the ÖVP. The city government should have known at the planning stage four years ago that the paving stones would not be able to cope with the loads, is the accusation. After all, buses have been running on this route for a long time. "How this situation can come about is inexplicable to me. This problem urgently needs to be rectified," says ÖVP planning spokesperson Elisabeth Olischar.

City bus demanded
A city bus between Burggasse and Mariahilfer Straße is being called for, as older people in particular are often dependent on public transport and barrier-free transportation.

However, there are also problems on Wiedner Hauptstraße. For several months now, the streetcar lines 1 and 62 and the Badner Bahn have no longer been running on Wiedner Hauptstraße.

SPÖ calls for rail replacement service
This is a major challenge for local residents, as the fifth district in particular is difficult to reach by public transport.

The SPÖ Margareten is now calling for a rail replacement service and has submitted a motion to this effect to the district council meeting, which was approved. Now we have to wait and see.