We've received almost 400 suggestions on how to fine-tune our bus and train timetables – and many of them have already been incorporated into this year’s updates.
May 2020 saw South Tyrol’s very first public consultation on how to adapt public transport departure and arrival times to better suit passenger needs.
The South Tyrol Department of Passenger Transport applauded the initiative, calling it a “valuable and very positive experience”. Passengers, too, welcomed the opportunity to actively contribute to shaping public transport timetables. In a brand-new and dynamic exchange between citizens and the authorities, the timetable planning team received around 400 suggestions and wishes regarding public transport services submitted by some 300 users. And the Department of Passenger Transport duly examined each one of them to see whether and how they could be implemented.
A great deal of feedback referred to the bus route between Merano/Meran and Bolzano/Bozen, buses serving Renon/Ritten and the catchment areas of Merano/Meran, Avelengo/Hafling and Verano/Vöran-Falzeben – as well as a total of 90 more routes and lines. Most suggestions asked to increase the number of services, extend early-morning as well as evening departures, introduce new routes and optimise the connection between routes and services.
About half of the proposals have already been successfully integrated into the 2021 bus timetables. While some minor changes have also been introduced in regional rail transport, extensive amendments to train timetables typically require more time.
As every year, the new timetables will become effective on the second Sunday of December. And the take-home message is clear: The südtirolmobil timetables are a dynamic work in progress that will continue to make direct citizen participation a top priority for the future.