Politics
At the weekend there was excitement in Austria about the end of free public transport for refugees from Ukraine. Minister of Transport Leonore Gewessler (Greens) and ÖBB have now extended free travel at least until the end of October.
An ÖBB spokeswoman confirmed to Radio Vienna that free travel would be extended until the end of the month. In consultation with the Ministry of Transport, they wanted to give the refugees and helpers more time. From November, only refugees who are coming to Austria for the first time will receive a one-time free ticket.
In the future only 24-hour ticket
Since the beginning of the war, ÖBB has issued around 390,000 tickets for trips by refugees from Ukraine. At the beginning there were up to 30,000 refugees per week, currently there are around 2,000. The future emergency ticket, which is to be issued from November, will be issued upon entry from Hungary for the first time and is then valid for 24 hours to a destination in Austria or to the border stations in the direction of Germany, Italy or Switzerland.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the refugee coordinator is looking for solutions together with the transport providers to extend the free travel even further. A spokesman said there were currently no talks with the refugee coordinator at the Verkehrsverbund Ostregion. Nor were they informed of the one-month extension by the federal government and ÖBB. This makes a uniform solution for free travel in all federal states more difficult.
No tickets in Vienna
In Vienna it became known over the weekend that free travel for Ukrainian refugees had expired. This had caused criticism from aid organizations. Mobility is one of the most important key points for integration and must therefore also be implemented, emphasized Manuela Ertl from the aid organization Train of Hope. The city of Vienna said on Sunday that the free rides had also expired in other federal states.