Two years ago, the local public transport company of the APG district set up an express bus line from the north-eastern district to the university clinic on a trial basis. As can be seen from a press release, the trial run for this direct bus route 437 has now been extended by a further two years. This happened “due to corona” because there is a lack of reliable passenger numbers.
The line starts in Kürnach and runs via Estenfeld, Maidbronn, Rimpar and Versbach directly to the centers for internal and surgical medicine at the university hospital in the Grombühl district. The idea behind it: A fast and direct bus connection should make public transport more attractive to commuters. A time-consuming change at the main station is no longer necessary.
Timetable coordinated with working hours
For the trial operation, the university clinic had been chosen from among the major employers. The bus runs hourly into the evening, and even more frequently in the morning. The timetable is tailored to the working hours of the clinic employees, but visitors and patients are also to be reached, says APG operations manager Dominik Stiller and advertises: “If there is a corresponding response, we can also imagine other direct connections.”
However, the total number of passengers is still significantly lower than before the pandemic, and a final assessment of whether the offer will be accepted by the passengers will only be possible again under normal operation, Stiller notes. “Unfortunately, the entire course of the pandemic thwarted our plans.”
The trial operation is therefore being extended, APG has revised the timetable and tried to adapt it better to the needs of the passengers. The public transport officers of the individual communities were also involved.
Poor connectivity for large parts of Rimpar
In Rimpar, for example, the municipal council, public transport officer and regular bus commuter Harald Schmid (SPD) pointed out the poor connections for large parts of the community. Since the line does not lead to the town center, boarding is only possible at the “Grundmühle” stop at the entrance to the town near the Reinfurt company. For passengers from Oberdorf, this means long walks. If you come from Gramschatz with line 450/452, you will either have very short connection times or waiting times of up to 45 minutes.
The result: The 20-seater direct bus used was “not only underused, but rather empty,” says Schmid, and is therefore well on the way to becoming a “ghost bus”. “If people are to use local public transport, then incentives must also be created,” the municipal council is certain.
APG has responded to the criticism: According to the operations manager, some journeys on line 437 have already been postponed by a few minutes to make it easier to switch from lines 450 and 452. It remains to be seen whether the line is attractive enough. In any case, the adjustments to the timetable are not enough for Schmid. “The line is basically a good offer, but if we’re not careful, we won’t get people to switch to the bus,” he says.
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