According to a spokesman, the ÖBB is still fine-tuning the controls of the FFP2 mask requirement. More could be said by Wednesday, it said to wien.ORF.at. The fine of 40 euros is expected to remain.
In the course of ticket inspections, the obligation to protect the face and nose is currently being checked on ÖBB trains; in the stations, this is done by the security and information staff of ÖBB. In principle, the mask discipline has been high since autumn at the latest, says the ÖBB spokesman. There are currently around ten penalties per day – throughout Austria.
Wiener Linien are planning training courses
It is more expensive to refuse the mask on Wiener Linien with fines of 50 euros. Since the mask requirement began in April, 322 such penalties have been issued – almost 80 of them since November. In addition, since April there have been 95,159 “speeches” – so to speak, admonitions or reminders of the mask requirement. Like the ÖBB, the mask discipline of passengers is currently rated high.
For the time being, there were no details from Wiener Linien on how the upcoming obligation to wear FFP2 masks in public transport will be controlled. We are still waiting for the relevant regulation. In principle, however, the 330 or so security and service employees will be required to check the regulations from January 25, according to the company.
The staff is trained accordingly and informed about what an FFP2 protective mask basically looks like – which differs from conventional mouth and nose protection or from a cloth or scarf. The staff themselves will also wear FFP2 masks, a spokesman for Wiener Linien emphasized to the APA.
Passenger numbers rose again in December
Meanwhile, the number of passengers on Wiener Linien has recently increased again. Currently, the occupancy rate is down by 40 percent compared to the previous year. In the spring, the minus was 80 percent – and in November the second lockdown meant that passengers were initially 60 percent fewer. In December, however, they came back, a spokeswoman told wien.ORF.at. And they apparently stayed after Christmas despite the tightening.
4,656 reports in Vienna since the second lockdown
In addition to the controls of the stricter rules, the Ministry of the Interior remains covered. At the moment there are a lot of questions – is a two-meter distance even possible on the sidewalks? Does that actually lead to a mask requirement also outdoors? A spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior told Radio Vienna how exactly the controls will look like cannot yet be assessed, as a corresponding regulation has not yet been issued.
As before, however, dialogue should come first and we want to proceed with a sense of proportion. Violations would of course continue to be punished, especially in the case of lack of understanding. From the beginning of the second lockdown in mid-November to January 18, there were 4,656 reports and 1,947 corporate mandates in Vienna for violations of the coronavirus rules, according to the Ministry of the Interior – but what it was all about is not recorded in the statistics.
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