Greens in the district have a headache on the way to the traffic turnaround

Created: 02/14/2022, 1:00 p.m

By: Patrick Staar

The district Greens met for a virtual New Year's reception.

© Screenshot: Pr

Better bus connections in the district: The district Greens discuss financing at the digital New Year's reception.

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen –

The turnaround in mobility can only succeed if you can easily get to the furthest corners of the district by bus: Jakob Koch expressed this opinion at the virtual New Year’s reception of the Greens.

At the same time, the district council is aware of the difficulties on the way there: "It will be politically exciting to convince the doubters."

You have to be so honest and say that the basic supply of buses in the district is not easy and costs "massive money", said Koch.

In 2019, only 1.7 million euros were earmarked for this in the district budget, in 2022 it will be 4.6 million euros.

If the local transport plan is implemented as planned, a further 4.5 million euros will be necessary.

In places with more than 900 inhabitants, there will then be a 20 to 30-minute cycle during peak traffic times and a one-hour cycle during off-peak times: "Public transport must become attractive," said Koch.

"It doesn't do me any good if I'm standing at the Wolfratshauser train station and then have no chance of getting to Beuerberg, for example, because there's no bus going for the next two hours." Ultimately, however, proper bus connections are also a question of social justice,

Klaus Koch: Headaches when asked about financing

District Councilor Teresa Wimmer also referred to this point: “As younger people, we often find it difficult to be able to afford an apartment and a car at the same time.” Talking to older people, who often haven’t taken the bus since their school days, is exciting are: "You don't know what everyday life looks like when you are dependent on public transport," said Wimmer.

The third district administrator, Klaus Koch, admitted that the question of how these “undeniably necessary things” should be financed gave him a headache: “It’s not easy to answer.” The cities and municipalities would have to be convinced that investments in infrastructure benefit themselves: "But it is also clear that the municipalities cannot manage the expensive turnaround in transport with the current financial resources.

Therefore, subsidies would probably have to come from outside, "even if future finance ministries will also not have a cash cow".

Therefore, it is probably necessary to say goodbye to some things that have become dear, at least in the current financial magnitude: “We must be prepared to have conflicts with our colleagues in the district council, to discuss them and to find solutions.”

Novel app under discussion

Member of the Bundestag Leon Eckert indicated that there was a lot going on in federal politics.

The coalition agreement states that the federal states and local authorities should be able to improve the attractiveness and capacity of public transport.

In other words, this means that more funds should be made available for more compact services and modernization.

The regional financing law alone mentions an additional three billion.

It is also being considered that the calculation method used to determine whether an infrastructure project is worthwhile should change: “It will probably be easier to get the “go” for S-Bahn and railway projects.” As a “small point with a lot of potential" Eckert classifies the introduction of an app with which one can buy all tickets and does not need a separate app for each public transport area.

For example, you can see where buses are driving in real time.

Such apps already exist in other countries.

More current news from the region around Bad Tölz can be found here.