City bus Vechta
The StadtBus Vechta is one of the city Vechta ( Lower Saxony funded) public transport system in the metropolitan area, consisting of four minibuses of the type Mercedes Sprinter. It is operated by the local bus company Wilmering . The city bus system is subject to the tariff regulations of the Verkehrsgemeinschaft Landkreis Vechta (VGV) and is therefore fully part of it. The city bus ran as a pilot project from February 1, 2008 until the end of 2012 and is subsidized by the city of Vechta. In the summer of 2012, the Vechta city council decided to promote the city bus for a further 4 years, as the passenger numbers of almost 100,000 journeys in 2011 suggest a success story. [outdated]
history
First plans
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before 2007
- As early as 1994 there were suggestions for the introduction of a city bus. The city bus system was tried twice before the current system, but only for a period of three weeks, after which the test was terminated both times.
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Year 2007
- Then the voter initiative Wir für Vechta campaigned in the city council for the introduction of a bus system that was financially secured by the city. The city council decided in November 2007 that a bus system will be introduced from February 2008, which will be financially secured by the city until 2010. After this trial period has expired, it should be shown whether the citizens of the city of Vechta also accept the system.
2008
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February 2008
- The city bus system with three buses on six lines (VW1-VW6), which met every twenty minutes at the central stop on Burgstrasse, was introduced. The use of the line system was free in the first week after its introduction.
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May 2008
- A fourth line and new tariffs were introduced due to the increasing number of passengers and to improve connections to other parts of the city.
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September 2008
- The city buses were equipped with the electronic cashier system of the Verkehrsgemeinschaft Vechta to improve operations.
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November 2008
- New stop signs were set up to inform passengers about the route of the line (previously only sporadic signs with stop symbols were set up).
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Balance sheet 2008
- City grant: 130,000 euros
- Income: approx. 16,000 euros
- Passenger numbers: 21,594 passengers (1780 passengers per month)
2009
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January 2009
- At the University of Vechta was the city bus on the use, tailored for an amount of eleven euros per semester. A majority of the students voted against.
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February 2009
- New special tickets have been introduced.
- The city bus now runs as a tramp bus , where passengers can get on and off the route between the stops.
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August 2009
- Renaming of lines 1 to 4 to lines 601 to 604 (integration into the VGV regional bus network)
- The regular service will be switched to a 1-hour cycle so that the travel times can be better memorized by the citizens.
- The operating time has been extended: on Friday and Saturday evenings the bus now runs until 11:45 p.m. (instead of Friday 7:45 p.m. & Saturday 3:45 p.m.)
- Due to insufficient use, the line service is completely stopped on Sundays.
- The StadtBus is going to Stoppelmarkt for the first time, but this connection is only moderately accepted.
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Balance sheet 2009
- City grant: 130,000 euros
- Income: approx. 30,000 euros
- Passenger numbers: 34,276 passengers (2,848 passengers per month)
2010
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February 2010
- The regional public transport company in Hanover signs contracts that allow the city bus to continue beyond the pilot project period until December 2010.
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March 2010
- The Vechta Adult Education Center in cooperation with the city of Vechta and the operating bus company Wilmering is launching a program under the motto “Don't be afraid of the city bus”, in which senior citizens are made familiar with how to use the city bus, both theoretically and practically.
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1st quarter 2010
- The system's most successful quarter: In the first three months, the number of passengers reached 20,403. More than in all of 2008.
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August 2010
- The city council decides in a closed session to increase the subsidy for the city bus from 130,000 to 163,400 euros annually, which is justified by what is now the fourth bus route. This also means that it will be continued until the end of 2012.
- The city bus routes 601 and 603 go to Stoppelmarkt every 30/60 minutes. The connections are in addition to the still established special bus routes Vechta-West, Vechta-Stadt and Vechta-Flugplatz.
- A Mercedes-Sprinter city bus vehicle is printed with motifs selected from the best results of the painting competition at Vechta primary schools.
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September 2010
- Fares will be simplified and made cheaper. A single trip for adults now only costs 1.00 euros instead of 1.70 euros.
- The stop signs will be gradually printed with the new lines and line names (from line 1-4 to line 601-604)
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October 2010
- Another city bus training for seniors is offered by the Vechta Adult Education Center.
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Balance 2010
- City grant: 130,000 euros
- Income: approx. 70,000 euros
- Passenger numbers: 72,819 passengers (6068 passengers per month)
2011
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February 2011
- The Vechta District Adult Education Center continues to offer free city bus training courses due to the fact that it is permanently booked out.
- The operating bus company Wilmering reports steadily increasing sales of weekly and monthly tickets, due to the active participation in the city bus training courses.
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March 2011
- The operating bus company Wilmering reports an average number of 500 passengers per day. The target value for 2011 is an average of 300 people per day. So nothing stands in the way of continuing the city bus beyond 2012.
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August 2011
- The city bus routes 601 and 603 run every 30/60 minutes, integrated into the normal route, as in the two previous years to the Stoppelmarkt. In order to attract people to the city bus, the ticket prices to the fair are kept at the normal fare of 1.00, while the buses, which also serve the entire city on 3 lines every 15 minutes, double that with a fare of almost 2 euros costs. This is what the Wilmering bus company wanted.
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Balance 2011
- City grant: 164,000 euros
- Passenger numbers: 94,095 passengers (7841 passengers per month)
2012
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September 2012
- From the winter semester 2012/2013 onwards, all students at the University of Vechta can use the city bus without restriction, as the city bus is now included in the semester ticket. The number of passengers has skyrocketed since the beginning of the semester.
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October 2012
- The city council of Vechta votes on the basis of the field trial Mobil um Vechta developed by the district in cooperation with the municipalities to participate in this project. As of May 2013, the district of Langförden will be integrated into the local public transport using a shared taxi, which means that the original integration with an additional bus line will no longer be necessary. Mobil um Vechta then goes into operation for the entire district and is initially limited as a two-year pilot project. The steadily increasing number of passengers on the city bus also gives hope for a success of the district-wide public transport.
2013
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January 2013
- At the beginning of January 2013, four new city buses were purchased. These differ from their predecessors in that they have more seats as well as LED direction indicators and a modern paintwork with QR codes for calling up timetables.
Lines and stops
The line network is based on the rendezvous principle . All 8 line branches always arrive at: 45 am and: 15 pm at the central stop "Burgstraße / Altes Finanzamt", parallel to the Große Straße shopping street. The system in the central city area is strengthened in the morning and at noon on school days due to the school traffic by the lines V1, V2 and V3. The route network covers the entire city area with 72 stops except for Langförden and Calveslage. An expansion of the system in these parts of the city after the trial period is over is planned.
The Vechta city bus offers a remarkably customer-friendly feature that other cities either do not know at all or only know in the evening hours: it is allowed to get on and off at all points on the routes of lines 601 to 604 during the entire operating time, not just at the stops ( Demand stop ). A hand signal on the side of the road when the bus is approaching is enough to get in; the driver is briefed to get out of the car. Of course, the traffic situation has to allow it. However, bus drivers are not allowed to deviate from the prescribed route.
The " Vechta Bahnhof / ZOB" stop is served by lines 604 and 602 (four times an hour). The travel times are adapted to the NordWestBahn timetable to make it possible to change trains. The lines are as follows:
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Special trips
The city bus has been driving to this festival since 2009 during the Stoppelmarkt in mid-August. Although four special bus lines have been set up annually since 1970, serving all parts of the city (including Langförden and Calveslage), the city bus should help to relieve the special lines, especially since the city bus can use the side streets due to the vehicle types (minibus) while the special buses can only use the main roads due to the articulated and solo cars used.
Plans for the system
It is also planned, after the pilot project phase, depending on the failure of the passenger numbers, to expand the system completely and to expand the lines to the surrounding villages such as Bakum , Lutten and the districts of Calveslage and Langförden .
Here is an excerpt from the list of priorities of the Vechta city marketing project:
“The functioning local public transport in Vechta can still be improved in order to better connect the peripheral areas of the city in particular and to improve offers for young people.
Action:
- A temporary bus connection from downtown Vechta to Langförden (via Calveslage ) should be checked.
→ The need for an hourly connection could be determined with a two-month test phase. In addition, the possibility of offering a bus connection for events in the city center should be examined.
Concrete measures in bus transport:
- Connection of the next districts / towns to city bus routes (in any case: Bergstrup / Langförden / Bakum / Lutten , possibly Visbek / Goldenstedt / Lohne ).
- Arrange arrival and departure times in school traffic as required .
- The fares for young people have to be cheaper or student tickets have to be offered. Presentation: approx. 80 cents or as an alternative to the Kids Card, which can be graded according to age from 3–15 years to 3–18 years / or all students over 18 years.
- Vouchers are purchased when shopping (visit to the cinema / use of the bowling alley, etc.). They can be redeemed as tickets. Coupons are better than a trial offer. Holders of the “Guardian Angel ID” or the “JuLeiCa” youth leader card , which volunteers receive and with which they are to be granted discounts for their engagement (as a nationwide project), travel for free or significantly cheaper.
- The city bus must be marketed even more aggressively after the improvements to the route offers.
- Usable night bus routes must be created on which night buses are also used on certain days (Wed / Fri / Sat). Departure points could be: pubs / party rooms / cinema etc. The destinations should be in the residential areas if possible in order to create short distances to home. Targets such as supermarkets, residential complexes for the elderly, offices etc. could be left out. "
literature
- Michael Lischka: The Vechta city bus system - how it works and what it means . In: Yearbook for the Oldenburger Münsterland 2012 . Vechta 2011, ISBN 978-3-941073-10-4 , pp. 240-254.
Web links
- Website of the bus company Wilmering, operator of the StadtBus Vechta
Individual evidence
- ↑ Oldenburgische Volkszeitung from March 18, 2010
- ↑ Route map StadtBus Vechta. (PDF, 193 KB) Omnibusbetrieb Wilmering GmbH & Co. KG, August 19, 2010, accessed on May 6, 2014 .