Local transport in Bonn Bus lines 610 and 611 frequently cancelled
Bad Godesberg · Buses on lines 610 and 611 in Bonn are often cancelled. Passengers are annoyed about this. The public utility company sees several reasons for the problems, the city is working on solutions.
Rolf Fischer is actually convinced of the traffic turnaround and therefore uses public transport almost daily. However, several cancellations in both directions on bus lines 610 and 611 have now made the Plittersdorf resident rethink. "Again and again buses break down there. If this happens in the evening hours, for example, you have to wait 30 minutes for the next bus," describes the 76-year-old. He is said to have spent many minutes waiting at the "Kennedyallee" bus stop because of this. "For health reasons, I cannot ride a bicycle. I have an Aktiv-60 ticket and am thinking of cancelling it because you have to expect a cancellation," says Fischer, who meanwhile takes an earlier bus in order to still reach his appointments on time.
Because within three weeks, the pensioner is said to have been affected by a breakdown at least seven times. "A small community of sufferers has already formed with other commuters at the bus stop." But this experience was the last straw: "A few weeks ago, I wanted to take the 610 to the UN Campus station at 5.30 pm. After two buses had not called at my stop, even though they were announced on the SWB app, the 611 line came at some point. The bus was completely overcrowded because it had to pick up the passengers of three buses," Fischer recalls. "Even with the Corona pandemic in mind, you do wonder if you still want to do that to yourself."
For voluntary work he needs two hours to get to Cologne
For voluntary work, Fischer commutes to Cologne several times a week. "This has become an absolute problem because public transport is often not reliable and switching to a car is no longer worth it because of the tense traffic situation and too high fuel prices." At times, Fischer is said to spend up to two hours travelling by bus and train in one direction. That is why he is considering giving up his honorary post.
When the Bonn resident addressed his problem to the Green parliamentary group, he received little meaningful answers. "The most important thing was that, according to the timetable, I could take the bus from my home in Plittersdorf to the city centre of Bonn every ten minutes. Unfortunately, however, I cannot travel with a timetable, but only with a bus," Fischer is annoyed. Complaints to SWB were answered with standard phrases and a reference to the "mobility guarantee". "This is of little help in practice, because it only comes into effect when you would arrive at your destination at least 20 minutes later and requires the completion of some formalities and presupposes a trust in SWB that you will really be reimbursed for the amount spent," says Fischer.
SWB cite several accidents as the reason
Asked about the cancellations, Stefanie Zießnitz, SWB press spokeswoman, says there are said to have been several accidents on the route of the 610/611 in recent weeks. "In a few cases our buses were involved, then vehicles had to be replaced, but also when it was a matter of accidents by third parties, the route is blocked. That leads to short-term cancellations in each case," explains Zießnitz. Other factors could also play a role, such as a demonstration on Thursday or the closed slip road onto the A565 last weekend. "They lead to sometimes considerable traffic jams in the city centre area, and all city centre lines are then affected, including lines 610 and 611," the spokeswoman explains.
Fischer is not satisfied with SWB's arguments. "The numerous cancellations can't just be due to accidents or special traffic situations." The pensioner therefore demands more staff and vehicles for public transport. "For example, funds could be taken away from road construction and invested in buses and trains. That would also make jobs more attractive," Fischer demands. He had already addressed this issue three years ago with a citizens' motion. At that time, the reason given for the cancellations was that there was a strained staffing level of an external transport company commissioned by the municipal utility. "We are in intensive talks with this service provider in order to jointly overcome these difficulties in the foreseeable future," SWB announced at the time.
Staff bottlenecks?
"Reliability is currently hampered at all transport companies by a lack of staff. If there is no one who can drive the bus or train, sometimes entire journeys have to be cancelled. Other factors for delays are road works, traffic jams and slowed down speeds due to unfavourable traffic lights or parked cars that slow down the onward journey," observes Friederike Dietsch, Chairwoman of the Committee for Mobility and Transport. According to the city councillor, the reliability of public transport has high priority in the planning of the council coalition. On the table, therefore, are proposals from the city administration for some bus routes, such as taking away parking spaces, changing priority regulations and speeding up traffic lights. "We are also creating an improved infrastructure especially for buses so that they can get through the city free of congestion and blockages. Bus lanes and environmental lanes are worth mentioning here. Another element is the expansion of public transport services," says Dietsch.
