Before and after the carnival parade next Sunday, Stadtwerke Gießen will be deploying more spacious articulated buses on some routes - three additional coaches are available as a reserve. During the parade, SWG will have to interrupt regular services on some routes. From 10 a.m., buses will also no longer run via the market square.
The highlight of the fifth season in Giessen is coming up on Sunday, 15 February. The organisers are once again expecting thousands of people in fancy dress to line the streets of the city centre for the annual parade. Once again this year, a large proportion of the revellers will be travelling by public transport.
"As usual, we will be using more spacious articulated buses for lines 1, 2 and 5," promises Anne Müller-Kreutz, Head of Local Transport Services at Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). Additional buses will also start from Berliner Platz on several routes following the move.
Market square closed to bus traffic
Due to the security concept for the carnival parade, the bus stops at Marktplatz, Oswaldsgarten and Stadttheater will not be accessible from 10 am to around 7 pm. SWG has set up diversion routes via the city centre ring road for the affected lines. "We ask passengers to use the stops in the Berliner Platz area," explains Anne Müller-Kreutz.
Passengers travelling on lines 2 and 7 should also note that their services will be completely suspended during the move.
Diversions and interruptions
While the carnival procession rolls slowly, some city bus routes will have to pause or take an alternative route. Between 1 p.m. and around 4 p.m., there are likely to be considerable disruptions to all bus services.
Line 1: From Lützellinden via Allendorf and Kleinlinden, the buses will run to the Friedrichstraße stop and continue to the Berliner Platz stop without stopping. From Rödgen in the direction of the city centre, bus services will be suspended. From the Bürgerhaus and Helgenstock stops, a scheduled taxi will take passengers to the Volkshalle stop without stopping.
Line 3: From the Schwarzacker stop, buses will run to the Schiffenberger Weg stop and from the Friedhof stop via Ostanlage to the Berliner Platz stop.
Line 5: From the direction of Wieseck, the buses will travel via Nordanlage, Westanlage and Bahnhofstraße to the Bahnhof stop.
Line 801 and 802: From Wettenberg, the trolleys will run via the Weststadt, Nordanlage and Ostanlage stops to the Berliner Platz stop.
Line 12: From Sandfeldschule, the buses will travel via Ostanlage to Berliner Platz.
Line 11: From Wetzlar via Dutenhofen and Kleinlinden, the buses run to the Bahnhof stop.
Line 24: From Wetzlar via Lahnau, Kinzenbach and Heuchelheim, the buses travel via Westanlage and Bahnhofstraße to the Bahnhof stop.
Lines 2, 6 and 7 will stop running completely between around 1 and 4 pm.
Cheaper with the group day ticket
Anne Müller-Kreutz has a tip for all carnival fans: "If you are travelling to Giessen on the city bus with up to five people, you can travel cheaper if you buy a group day ticket. It costs 7.50 euros for the city trip - a single journey for adults costs 2.15 euros."
All information on timetable changes is also available at the Stadtwerke Gießen customer centre on Marktplatz, by phone on 0641 708-1400 or online at www.stadtwerke-giessen.de/verkehr. Opening hours of the mobility centre in the customer centre: Mondays to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.