Press release of the Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour
Minister President Manuela Schwesig, Transport Minister Reinhard Meyer, District Administrator Tino Schomann from the district of Northwest Mecklenburg, Managing Director of VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Daniel Bischof and Managing Director of transport company Nahbus Nordwestmecklenburg Jörg Lettau attended a ceremony at Gadebusch railway station to mark the launch of the new nationwide on-call bus system in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. With the new timetable-based on-call bus, the Nahbus transport company has been making a climate and environmentally friendly statement since March 2024.
"It's great that we can give the go-ahead today for the development of a state-wide on-call bus system in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. On-call buses expand our public transport network, and they do so over the last few kilometres. They connect the small communities and villages in our state to the regional bus routes and railway lines. Some districts have already had such on-demand buses for some time. The fact that we are now extending the system to the whole state and then also with a state-wide on-call bus hotline is an enormous achievement and an important step towards implementing the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mobility campaign. The aim of our mobility campaign is to ensure that all citizens can take part in local public transport, in the big cities as well as in the small villages," said Manuela Schwesig, Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Reinhard Meyer, Minister for Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Tourism and Labour, emphasised: "We are creating a state mobility network with nationwide, fast, interlinked rail and bus services and on-call buses that reach even the smallest villages in the state. This will lay the foundations for the people of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to make a sustainable switch to climate-friendly public transport systems in the cities, but especially in rural areas. However, this will not happen overnight. That is why we are taking a step-by-step approach. With the launch of the on-demand bus system in the district of Northwest Mecklenburg, we are taking another important step forward."
In addition to the district of Nordwestmecklenburg, Ludwigslust-Parchim already offers on-call buses throughout the district. In the Mecklenburg Lake District, it will be possible to use the "ILSE" on-call bus system throughout the district from 1 May 2024. In the district of Rostock, too, the already successful on-demand bus service is expected to be expanded to cover the entire district this year. The realisation of a comprehensive on-demand bus system and the implementation of the defined quality criteria is already well underway in some areas of the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, but further steps still need to be taken by the local players to achieve the goal of comprehensive coverage. In the district of Vorpommern-Rügen, an on-demand bus system will be gradually established by 2026, with the first areas also to be covered by 2024.
District Administrator Tino Schomann added: "Life in the countryside is particularly attractive in north-west Mecklenburg. The on-call bus system makes it even more attractive, as it means that residents are well connected to the regional infrastructure and can enjoy rural life at the same time. The on-call bus is definitely a gain for young and old alike."
"With the planned nationwide implementation of the state-wide on-call bus system, we are enabling greater participation in rural areas. The introduction of the Deutschlandticket is now being followed by the urgently needed expansion of services. I would like to express my sincere thanks for the close partnership in cooperation with the districts and transport companies in the state to realise this ambitious mobility option for passengers," said Daniel Bischof, Managing Director of VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern mbH.
"With the support of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, we are implementing the linking of the planned network levels in Northwest Mecklenburg seven days a week throughout the year. We hope that this will enable us to no longer have to offer holiday timetables in the area in future," said Jörg Lettau, Managing Director of Nahbus Nordwestmecklenburg.
The mayor of Gadebusch, Arne Schlien, quoted Franz Müntefering "Mobility is the basis of our prosperity". Schlien continued: "We owe our country's prosperity in particular to the people to whom we want to give back their mobility with the on-demand bus. In rural areas, the new Nahbus on-demand bus system is an opportunity for our older citizens in particular to participate in life on the move. As mayor of Gadebusch, I would like to thank everyone who has successfully contributed to the development of the nationwide on-call bus systems in our federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern."
Minister President Manuela Schwesig also presented District Administrator Tino Schomann with a grant notification of around 1.45 million euros for the funding of on-demand bus services in local public transport in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (ÖPNV) for 2024. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is supporting the project with state funds via VMV-Verkehrsgesellschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In total, the development and operation of a state-wide on-call bus system will receive 13.5 million euros in funding in 2024, after 13 million euros were already made available for the development of the systems in 2023. The state also plans to provide funding for subsequent years.
In the new timetable-based call bus concept from Nahbus, the MV call bus operates on a total of 33 call bus routes in the district of Nordwestmecklenburg, which run according to a fixed timetable. Anyone wishing to travel on one of these on-call bus routes must register their boarding request with Nahbus in advance, otherwise the bus will not stop at the stop. On-call bus bookings can be made by telephone on the following number: 0385/555 733 40. The order must be placed at least one hour before departure time. The MV on-call bus in Nordwestmecklenburg operates from Monday to Saturday from 05.00 to 22.00 and on Sundays and public holidays from 08.00 to 20.00. Please refer to the timetables for the exact operating times of the individual on-call bus routes. The regular Nahbus fare applies for a journey on the MV on-call bus with Nahbus, i.e. you pay for the route from your boarding stop to your final destination stop. The Deutschland-Ticket is recognised on call buses. You can find further timetable information on the Nahbus MV call bus here:
Timetable information "MV FÄHRT GUT"
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).
Deutsch 
English (UK)