As of: February 29, 2024, 6:00 a.m
By: Christoph Peters
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Evening stop at Schongau train station: The Flixbus now runs to Lechstadt every day.
Two passengers took the opportunity on Tuesday to take the long-distance bus to Munich.
© Hans-Helmut Herold
There was great joy in Steingaden and Schongau when in 2017 the monastery village and a year later the Lechstadt got a long-distance bus stop.
Since then, the offer has been quiet.
The operator Flixbus now offers daily connections to Munich.
Schongau/Steingaden – Falk Sluyterman likes to describe himself as an enthusiastic train traveler.
Whenever possible, the mayor of Schongau uses the train to get to his destination.
But Sluyterman can also warm up to traveling by bus, especially when it comes to better connections to his Lech town.
It was he who first brought a long-distance bus stop for Schongau into play ten years ago.
It would take until 2018 for the wish, which the former FDP member of the Bundestag Klaus Breil also advocated for, to become reality and the first Flixbuses stopped in Lechstadt.
At the time, Sluyterman saw the fact that Schongau was moving closer to the capital in terms of transport with a direct connection to Munich as a “certain introduction” - especially since the long-distance buses only stopped in the Lechstadt from Friday to Sunday.
The issue has apparently not been pursued much in the town hall since then.
When asked by the local newspaper, Sluyterman explained that he was not aware of the fact that Flixbus temporarily suspended the route to Allgäu during the corona pandemic.
The town hall also missed the news that the number of connections increased significantly when operations resumed last year.
Since then, passengers have been able to board the long-distance bus in Munich every day at 8:30 a.m. in the direction of Füssen, which takes them to Schongau within 75 minutes.
In the evening we go back to the state capital at the same time from 6 p.m.
Depending on the booking day and capacity, the fare starts at eight euros, which is quite attractive compared to a train ticket.
At least if you only travel every now and then, because the Germany ticket is currently not valid on Flixbuses.
Company speaks of constant demand on the line
The fact that the company has restarted the line and even expanded it is an indication “that it is worth it,” says the mayor, for whom this is of course good news.
However, the city cannot say anything about how the offer will be accepted.
As part of the ongoing potential analysis for the Fuchstalbahn, the long-distance bus stop at the train station was included.
As far as the utilization of the green buses that travel to Lechstadt every day is concerned, the operator is also keeping a low profile.
“We do not communicate exact passenger numbers for individual lines,” said press spokeswoman Natascha Hofmann when asked.
But you can see constant demand on the line.
It is currently mainly used by tourists for the journey from Munich to Schwangau.
The Flixbuses also stop in Steingaden.
There, too, Mayor Max Bertl can say little about how the offer will be received in his community.
Because the stop on Ammergauer Straße is decentralized, you don't see much of the buses, he explains.
For students who have to go to Munich, the long-distance bus is definitely a “cool thing,” he emphasizes, considering the travel time and price.
“If we didn’t have the support, it would be a big loss,” he says.
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There are currently no plans to expand the network
However, from the perspective of his Schongau counterpart, it would be a gain if there were also a long-distance bus connection to Augsburg in the near future.
As is well known, the connection with public transport in this direction from Lechstadt has been rather poor.
There are currently no plans for expansion, says Hofmann.
“But this may change in the future.”
Schongau and Steingaden are likely to remain the only long-distance bus stops in the district for the time being.
According to the press spokeswoman, a stop in Weilheim on the Munich – Garmisch-Partenkirchen line is currently not planned, “as this would extend the attractive journey time for passengers”.
All news and stories can also be found on the Schongauer Nachrichten Facebook page.