Press release of the Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour
Jesse: Regional buses strengthen mobility throughout the country - improve existing bus routes in the area and create new continuous routes
Schwerin, 10.12.2023, The regional bus line of the Ludwigslust-Parchim transport company (VLP) was launched on Sunday. State Secretary for Transport Ines Jesse, Managing Director of VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Daniel Bischof and Managing Director of VLP Stefan Lösel took part in the official launch of the regional bus line at Schwerin Central Station. "The new regional buses are an important part of the mobility campaign for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Together with the transport companies and local authorities, we want to improve mobility throughout the state. Among other things, regional bus routes with uniform quality standards will be introduced on important transport axes. The first regional bus routes will be launched with today's timetable change. The aim is to improve the range of existing bus routes in the area and create new continuous routes. This will enable more passengers to use local public transport. This will also strengthen mobility in rural areas of our state," said Ines Jesse, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs supports all regional bus routes with annual subsidies via VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mbH. For the line 170 Sternberg - Schwerin project, the responsible district of Ludwigslust-Parchim will receive regionalisation funds of around 670,000 euros in 2024. The district will receive around 40,000 euros for 2023.
The planned regional bus routes will operate with regular journeys every hour or every two hours, regardless of school and holiday times. The Regiobus services will be extended, particularly at weekends and outside the traditional peak times. The buses generally run from Monday to Saturday between 5 am and 10 pm and on Sundays and public holidays between 8 am and 8 pm. In addition, the Regiobus routes are linked with rail services to create a close-knit transport network for the whole of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Stefan Sternberg, District Administrator of Ludwigslust-Parchim: "The introduction of the regional bus routes will create a permanent fixed-route transport service that will ensure predictable and reliable connections between the centres in the district and the state capital Schwerin as the regional centre. These regular services are the backbone of the district's successfully established on-call bus system and ensure the permeability of transport beyond the main centre. This applies in particular to the connection to the town of Sternberg, which is now secured to a high standard via the road-based public transport system and the connecting on-call bus routes and can also be permanently financed by the district thanks to the grants awarded."
"The new service goes far beyond the previous transport service on the Schwerin - Sternberg route, especially at weekends and during off-peak times," explains Stefan Lösel, Managing Director of VLP. "We have hired additional drivers and transferred buses from other parts of VLP's operations. The state's quality criteria place high demands on transport companies. I am convinced that the associated reliable service will be recognised by customers."
Dr Rico Badenschier, Lord Mayor of the state capital Schwerin, adds: "Schwerin, the neighbouring districts and the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern have already worked together very constructively in recent years to prepare the future joint transport association. With the creation of an attractively timed bus service between Schwerin and Sternberg, another important step is now being taken to significantly improve the public transport service between the state capital and its surrounding area and thus establish a competitive and environmentally friendly alternative to the private car on this route."
The first passengers to be able to use the new regional bus routes are those travelling on route 170 of the Ludwigslust-Parchim transport company (VLP) from Schwerin to Sternberg via Cambs and Brüel. The regional buses run every hour from Monday to Friday. At weekends, where on-call buses were previously offered, there will be a two-hourly service for the first time, which will be reinforced by additional on-call bus journeys. "For a comprehensive and climate-friendly public transport service, we need a significant expansion of cross-district mobility services that close the gap between local rail passenger transport and local services. Together with the transport companies and the districts, we are investing in high-quality regional bus routes in order to provide better and high-quality connections to the rural regions in our federal state," says Daniel Bischof, Managing Director of VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mbH.
With the timetable change on 10 December, the first additional Regiobus routes will start operating in two more districts:
- between Neubrandenburg and Waren (Line 012 MVVG)
- between Wismar and Grevesmühlen (line 330 NAHBUS)
The next two Regiobus routes in the districts of Vorpommern-Greifswald, Vorpommern-Rügen and Rostock are due to follow in spring 2024:
- Sanitz - Marlow - Tribsees - Grimmen - Greifswald (VVR)
- (Königstuhl -) Sassnitz - Klein Zicker (VVR)
The Sanitz-Greifswald regional bus route will then connect three districts for the first time with a regular, continuous local transport service by road.
The "MV FÄHRT GUT" journey planner
The state-wide timetable information app "MV FÄHRT GUT" for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern takes into account all changes to the new timetable. The state's free app contains all public transport timetable data in M-V and is available for Android and iOS (www.fahrplanauskunft-mv.de).
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