Trams are praised, speed limits are suggested.
Wien. A sentence that you don’t read that often: “The Court of Auditors appreciates that future-oriented parameters were already considered in the planning phase of the projects.” This is one of the core sentences of the assessment of tram projects that have been implemented in Graz, Linz and Innsbruck .
The examiners praised the fact that the number of passengers in Innsbruck and Linz was higher than expected. And Graz is praised because, according to the RH, higher goals have been set for public transport in the expansion areas: in the new settlements, the proportion of journeys made using public transport should be 30 or 33 percent. A target of 24 percent has been formulated for the entire city.
In all three cases, there is project-related criticism, which is, however, rather subdued: the examiners complain that there were isolated cost overruns and that too few providers were invited. In addition, one should in future be based on a producer price index for rail vehicles. Only Linz agreed that, but not the other two public transport companies.
Criticism and recommendations are much sharper when it comes to the basic approach to transport policy. The Court of Auditors reminds that Austria has committed itself to wanting to achieve climate neutrality by 2040. In the “Mobility Master Plan 2030” there is a nationwide target path for the transport sector, but no concrete goals and measures for states, regions and municipalities.
Driving bans, congestion charges
And: “Further measures are needed to achieve the climate targets by 2040. The ACA recommends that the Ministry of Climate Protection, the states of Upper Austria, Styria and Tyrol and the cities of Graz, Innsbruck and Linz not only improve public transport services and provide attractive public mobility offers and services, but also push measures (e.g. speed limits, partial or temporary driving bans, City toll systems, meeting zones, pedestrian zones) to reduce motorized private transport in order to support the effects of supply-side measures (pull measures).”
