Passenger association Pro Bahn calls for secure financing for public transport in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt

The Pro Bahn passenger association is calling for secure financing for public transport in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Rising costs, staff shortages and strained public budgets are putting increasing pressure on buses and trains, said the regional association of the two federal states. This is particularly evident in Saxony with cuts to public transport in Dresden, Chemnitz and Bautzen. In Saxony-Anhalt, the association criticizes the efficiency program at Halleschen Verkehrs-AG.

State chairman Markus Haubold sees the cuts as more than just individual timetable adjustments. “Rather, there is a risk of a structural dismantling of public transport,” he said, according to the statement. “That’s exactly why we need reliable financing now.”

The association advocates this in a new resolution, which was passed unanimously at a state meeting in Halle. This calls for securing existing offerings, improving operational quality and embedding reactivations of disused routes into an overall concept. Even in times of crisis, public transport must be treated with the same priority as private motorized transport. The existing offer should form the basis for targeted expansions and reactivations.

“Mobility should not depend on how strained the budget of a city or district is at the moment,” emphasized Haubold. Anyone who thins out frequencies and cancels connections risks losing passengers.