New bus routes for the 10th anniversary of the Vorpommern-Rügen transport company

On Saturday (1 June), State Secretary for Transport Ines Jesse emphasised the importance of a mobility campaign for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Vorpommern-Rügen transport company (VVR). "The transport companies are reliable partners in working with the state to ensure and continuously improve mobility for local people. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is primarily characterised by rural areas. This also applies to the district of Vorpommern-Rügen. This makes it all the more important to provide attractive local public transport, for example with affordable ticket prices and a range of bus and rail services that are suitable for everyday use. Together with the Vorpommern-Rügen transport company, we are taking important steps to continuously expand the range of services. This is how we are continuing to implement the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mobility campaign," said Ines Jesse, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour.

VVR has its headquarters in Grimmen and additional depots in Bergen auf Rügen, Stralsund and Ribnitz-Damgarten. It currently employs 362 people who operate 71 bus routes. VVR's vehicle fleet consists of a total of 199 buses, which transport around 11.8 million passengers a year. The bus stop network comprises 1,234 stops. "In addition to local residents, many visitors to the holiday regions of Rügen and the Darß also use buses and trains to experience Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Another attractive offer is now available. VVR's first Regiobus line, line 29, will run from Sassnitz to Klein Zicker on Rügen in future," said Jesse.

On 1 June 2024, the VVR's on-demand bus service, the so-called "VVR Surfer", will also be launched and the first on-demand bus zone will be set up around the town of Grimmen. There are also plans to introduce the Regiobus line Sanitz - Marlow - Tribsees - Grimmen - Greifswald (VVR line 320) on 1 September 2024.

Mobility offensive Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

The aim of the state's mobility offensive - accompanied by favourable ticket prices and the introduction of modern, digital fare and sales structures - is to create a state mobility network with nationwide, fast, interlinked rail and bus services and on-call buses. To this end, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has defined three fields of action: Expansion and performance strategy for local rail passenger transport (SPNV), introduction of a state-wide bus network (Regiobus MV) with regular interval services and the introduction of a standardised state-wide on-call bus system. With the launch of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's mobility campaign at the timetable change in December 2023, the state has ordered 1.2 million more kilometres of SPNV services, which is the largest increase in services since 1994/1995.

The Ministry of Transport and Economic Affairs is providing a total of 23.55 million euros in 2024 for the construction, maintenance and operation of call and regional buses.