A new bus service connecting Italy and Austria is to be launched this year, with 28 cross-border services every day linking Malles/Mals and Landeck.
After intensive planning and negotiations involving South Tyrol and neighbouring Tyrol, the introduction of a direct, fast bus service connecting Malles/Mals and Landeck has now been decided – a long-held wish for countless commuters that is set to become a reality at the end of this year.
Ideal connection for commuters
To date, the journey between the two locations can only be made on a long and cumbersome trip that involves changing buses in Martina in the Swiss canton of Grisons. But from December 2023, the 75 km route between Malles/Mals and Landeck will be served by 14 return trips per day, seven days a week between 6:40 in the morning and 21:17 at night. Making this milestone in cross-border transport possible comes with a price tag of an estimated two million euros per year, with South Tyrol and Tyrol each covering half of the costs.
“A transnational, transfer-free connection to Landeck has long been a top priority for commuters and students of the Venosta/Vinschgau valley. With this direct link, the journey to Innsbruck in particular will be significantly shortened”, South Tyrol Mobility Minister Daniel Alfreider explained. Sepp Noggler, vice-president of the South Tyrol Landtag parliament, agreed: “The Venosta/Vinschgau valley and the upper regions of Tyrol have always maintained an intensive exchange, and good mobility connections are decisive for that. With the new direct bus service between Malles/Mals and Landeck, the quality of this link has just been further improved.”
Cooperation across the Euroregion
“With the Euregio 2 Plus pass and the Euregio Ticket Students, which were sold more than 2600 times in 2022 alone, we have already created a great set of tickets that can be used throughout the European region. But we still need more uncomplicated cross-border offers – and in addition to expanding transnational bus services, we also have dismantle the legal and technical hurdles still present in rail transport”, as Tyrolean Mobility Minister Rene Zumtobel added.
VVT and südtirolmobil, the two transport networks in question, are already working at full speed to ensure that the respective network passes and tickets will be mutually recognised along the new route. (LPA)
photo: LPA / Dejaco