BONN. The nine-euro ticket has given local public transport services a boost. Stadtwerke Bonn alone has sold more than 190,000 of these tickets so far. But what does the future hold for local public transport in Bonn and the region? The Rhine-Sieg transport association’s (VRS) advisory board for fare setting will hold discussions on Monday. There is no shortage of suggestions for affordable successor models. But the traffic associations in North Rhine-Westphalia fear drastic price rises, if the federal and state governments do not provide more money. The traffic associations are demanding an additional 500 to 600 million euros for 2023 alone, without which fares would have to be raised or the services reduced.

Coffers in the local authority districts are meagre. Mayor Katja Dörner and City Treasurer Margarete Heidler announced only recently that Bonn expects a deficit of up to 100 million euros in the fiscal years 2023/24. Nevertheless, Dörner believes that more people need to switch to using public transport. “But it has to be more attractive and affordable. Neither the transport associations nor the local authorities can do that on their own.” She is calling on the federal and state governments to make it possible to finance the introduction of a 365-euro ticket, for example.

From 1st September, following a council decision, bus and train travellers on low incomes who are Bonn ID card holders will be able to buy a monthly ticket for 19 euros which is valid across the city. There will also be blocks of 4 tickets for children of low-income families. These will cost one euro for short journeys (Kurzstrecke) and 1.50 euros for longer trips. The burden on the budget for both these tickets amounts to 783,000 euros.

(Original text: Lisa Inhoffen und Philipp Königs)

BONN. A special dry run is taking place on Sunday. At an extremely low level of the Rhine, helpers in Bonn will be setting up and testing mobile flood protection walls. These walls are intended to protect the lower-lying districts from future flooding. In the event of an emergency, the walls will be used if a flood level of more than ten metres is predicted in Bonn, according to the city authorities. At present, the Rhine level in Bonn is around 90 centimetres.

The fire brigade, civil engineering office and technical relief organisation Technische Hilfswerk are taking part in the all-day exercise. There will be some disruption to traffic as the walls will be erected in the street area. (Original text: dpa)

BONN. Stadtwerke Bonn (SWB) has issued a warning against door-to-door scammers who are taking the guise of a SWB subsidiary company. According to the municipal utility, customers have reported being subjected to intimidation. The scammers put people under pressure to sign a contract on the spot. The company Prima-Strom is one of those claiming to be a subsidiary of SWB. And the company HahnSolar is offering solar power systems “on behalf of SWB”. However, this company has not been instructed by the Stadtwerke. The scammers have been urging people to sign a contract immediately on the doorstep. (Original text: buj)

BAD HONNEF. The fire services were called out to a wildfire on Saturday afternoon at around 4.30pm in Bad Honnef Aegidienberg. An area of around 1000 square meters was on fire in the Brüngsberg district.

To get enough water to the scene of the fire, local firefighters from the Aegidienberg fire brigade used a TLF3000 transport vehicle belonging to the Königswinter-Ittenbach fire brigade, which can hold 3000 litres of water, as well as a slurry trailer belonging to a farmer, who himself is a member of the fire brigade. This meant that an additional 5000 litres of water could be transported to the scene of the fire. Both vehicles were used in a shuttle to secure the water supply.

Residents had seen smoke and alerted the fire services. Due to the quick intervention of the fire brigade, the spread of the fire was largely contained. However, the fire-fighting was hindered by the location of the site on a slope with difficult access. The fire brigade managed to put out the fire at around 5.30 p.m. Post-fire extinguishing work was carried out in some places, with a fire extinguishing ball being used to water the ground over a large area. (Original text: Michael Wrobel und Ralf Klodt)

(Translations: Caroline Kusch)