Please get on: In the X-Bus from Unterschleißheim to Oberhaching

Created: 01/24/2022, 06:00

By: Charlotte Borst

The X-Bus can be recognized by the label.

© Private

The display only shows "202", the "X" identifying the express bus between Unterschleißheim and Haar is still missing.

That's irritating for a moment.

But then the test drive begins via Haar to Oberhaching.

District

– The lettering on the bus is then clear.

Here at the Unterschleißheim S-Bahn station it stops on time, the new X202.

Only three passengers board at 9.40 a.m., but they are impressed by the new circular bus service.

Every 20 minutes after hair

The X202 commutes directly to Haar with a few stops in Hochbrück, Ismaning, Aschheim and Feldkirchen.

Every 20 minutes on weekdays.

A 32-year-old discovered it as the ideal means of transport for herself.

She drives several times a week for medical treatment.

Since the timetable change, she has dispensed with the S-Bahn via Munich.

“For me, the bus is great.

I can stay seated until Haar,” says the woman from Unterschleißheim, “I also save money because I move in fewer zones.” Another woman wants to go to work in the Hochbrück industrial park: “I save at least ten minutes with this bus,” she says 43 year old.

Seven MVV lines form a ring and connect the S-Bahn lines

The express buses have been on the road around Munich for a good month.

Seven MVV lines form a ring and connect the S-Bahn lines tangentially.

The first impression in the new bus: the equipment is comfortable, the seats are very comfortable.

There are even seat belts.

What they were installed for will become clear in the course of the journey.

What's practical is that in some places there are charging sockets for mobile phones.

Four lines run through the district of Munich.

© Private

It would be even faster

The X202 is pausing in Ismaning.

The driver waits three minutes at the S-Bahn station.

It should go on in an X-Bus but jagged.

But the travel times are currently too generous: the streets are free, few passengers on the road.

Actually, the express bus could be even faster due to the pandemic.

District Councilor Jolanta Wrobel (ÖDP) praises the offer

District Councilor Jolanta Wrobel (ÖDP) is on the way to work in the X202, although she is currently mainly working from home.

She has already used the X202 three times.

The connection is “a real alternative”.

On the way to Dornach, the woman from Unterschleißheim has to change trains again.

It's true that the bus isn't much faster than the S-Bahn, "but the journey is much more pleasant," says Jolanta Wrobel: "I can really enjoy the journey." Only the buses are "still very empty at the moment.

I think you have to be patient here.” The X202 reaches Haar after a 57-minute journey.

That's not very nice.

But with the S1, S4/S6, S8 and the U6, four rapid transit branches are connected without having to change trains

in the direction of Oberhaching

It takes five minutes for the X203 to connect to Oberhaching in Haar.

Again there are only three or four passengers.

But even they no longer want to do without the line.

"Up until now I drove to work in the 241," says Andreas Krüger from Trudering, "but it stops at every milk churn." Now the salesman takes the X203 to the Taufkirchen industrial park and is therefore much faster.

Antonia (24) from Haar wants to do an internship in a physiotherapy practice.

It goes to Hohenbrunn and then takes the S7 to Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn.

The X-Bus is faster and much more comfortable, she says: "Not as crowded as the 241 with all the students in the morning."

To Ikea in Brunnthal

On the way south, the driver stops in the large industrial area of ​​Brunnthal before entering the autobahn.

Now would actually be the time to put on the seat belts.

They are mandatory because the bus could actually drive at 100 km/h here.

But he doesn't.

And no passenger makes any move to put on the waist belt.

This is probably still too unusual for a bus.

Terminus currently in Furth

The X203 is at its terminus at the S-Bahn station in the Furth district of Oberhaching.

From here you have a connection in the direction of Wolfratshausen.

Due to construction work in Oberhaching, however, the S-Bahn station Deisenhofen will not be served for the time being.

Alternatively, the express bus line is expected to serve Furth S-Bahn station until the end of 2022.

Bus driver praises the "theater seating"

The driver uses the break to explain what is special about the new bus model.

Inside the Scania has a lot of space.

"Theater seating," says the driver meaningfully.

In the rear area, the rows of seats rise, so more passengers can take a seat: there are 43 seats, 36 standing places and a wheelchair ramp.

Free internet

The free internet is also practical: You can log in via Bayern-Wlan with a mobile phone, tablet or laptop, a password is not necessary.

The offer is funded by the Free State, as bus operator Josef Ettenhuber reports later.

He appreciates the service for different reasons than the customers: "Since then we have had less vandalism.

Passengers prefer to use their cell phones.”

Free WiFi: A passenger uses the offer.

© Private

To Wolfratshausen

The X320 closes half the ring around Munich.

This line is the first to provide a continuous bus connection from Oberhaching (S3) to Wolfratshausen (S7).

The connection benefits commuters in the direction of Wolfratshausen as well as day trippers in the direction of the southern Isar valley.

It is still much too early for valid passenger numbers

The bus operators have purchased 49 new buses for the seven lines around Munich.

27 diesel buses commute alone on the four X lines in the district of Munich.

However, significantly more people will have to get on board before the eco-balance is positive and the ambitious ring project becomes a success.

Will MVV and the district stir the advertising drum again?

However, it is still much too early for valid passenger numbers.

According to an MVV spokeswoman, a new line has “settled” after two to three years.

But because of Corona, it takes even longer.

Offer greatly expanded

In the past ten years, the district of Munich has significantly expanded its range of transport services.

The operating performance of the MVV regional bus service was roughly doubled.

Currently, the performance amounts to more than 16 million commercial vehicle kilometers per year.