Viennese of the week

The safe rock in the public transport storm

The U1 fire meant many hours in the dark, cold tunnel for dozens of Wiener Linien employees.(Bild: Wiener Linien)

In this year of breakdowns and disasters, Wiener Linien and the city's population must - and can - rely above all on people, not machines, for public transport.

The constant search for employees proves that working for Wiener Linien is no walk in the park, even under normal circumstances. But little has been "normal" there recently anyway. The "new normal" in Vienna's public transport landscape lies somewhere between construction site and staff shortage, with exceptional circumstances ranging from flooding and subway fires to burst water pipes to top it all off.

One decision - many people affected
And behind every temporary emergency solution, every hastily changed timetable, every rerouted route, there may be decisions made at the top, but above all there are many people. People who bend their backs in dark tunnels, send passengers in the right direction in front of draughty, blocked stations or tame masses of diverted passengers on buses, streetcars and subway trains, all of them with nerves already frayed by a constant stream of additional tasks.

"Well, the Bim is finally coming", passengers often think. And they are wrong. Because without the drivers, who continue to work hard day after day despite the adversity, nothing would happen. They are two of our many "Viennese of the week" at Wiener Linien.