From next Sunday, city and suburban buses will once again be travelling to the station forecourt in Giessen. The Rhine-Main Transport Association has also introduced a new fare in Giessen and Heuchelheim as well as six other municipalities.
From Sunday, 15 December 2013, the new fares and updated timetables for the coming year will apply throughout the entire area of the Rhine-Main Transport Association (RMV). Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) already introduced changed departure times and routes for the city bus routes at the start of the winter semester in October. An additional change concerns the first journey on route 1 from Monday to Friday. Also new from 15 December: buses stopping at the station will once again stop at the station forecourt; the replacement stop at the station/Mathematikum will no longer be available.
RMV introduces city fare level 1
With the timetable and fare change, RMV is introducing the so-called city fare level 1 in Giessen and Heuchelheim as well as in six other Hessian municipalities. Last year, RMV introduced the city fare levels for the first time for the major cities of Frankfurt and Wiesbaden/Mainz in order to make the prices in cities and rural areas independent of each other. In doing so, RMV is primarily taking into account the different transport services available in conurbations, cities and smaller municipalities. From 15 December, a single journey for adults will cost 2.10 euros instead of 1.80 euros, while season ticket prices will increase to a lesser extent. If you make fewer than 20 journeys a month, it is worth switching from a single ticket to a monthly travelcard. In future, passengers will pay 12.40 euros for a weekly ticket in fare zone 1501, 40.90 euros for a monthly ticket and 34.70 euros for monthly tickets valid from 9 a.m. every day. Monthly tickets for schoolchildren and trainees will cost 32.80 euros, the annual ticket for adults will cost 400 euros for a one-off payment and 409 euros for a monthly direct debit. "The change only affects connections within the 1501 fare zone, not journeys starting in Giessen and ending in other fare zones," explains Anne Müller-Kreutz, Head of Local Transport Services at Stadtwerke Giessen.
Holders of the Giessen Pass will continue to benefit from a 50 per cent discount on single, weekly and monthly tickets. The attractive offer for passengers over the age of 65 will also remain in place. Regardless of the price level purchased, they can travel throughout the RMV area at weekends or on public holidays with a personal 65 Plus annual travelcard.
Direct service to the station forecourt again
Stadtwerke Gießen adjusted the timetable at the beginning of October. From 15 December, there will be a further change: the suburban line 110 will no longer serve the Rödgen district, meaning that the direct connection to the station will no longer be available. The first journey on line 1 in Rödgen will therefore start at 5.02 a.m. on Mondays to Fridays. Passengers travelling to Giessen station will thus be able to catch the 5.16 a.m. connection to line 21 at the Waldstadion stop.
From Sunday, there will no longer be a long walk to the tracks at the station. Buses will once again stop directly on the forecourt. City bus lines 2, 5, 10 and 15 will stop at bus platform 1 in the immediate vicinity of railway track 1. Line 24 and local buses will stop at bus platform 5. As the replacement stop at Bahnhof/Mathematikum will be cancelled, lines 2, 5, 10 and 15 and all local buses will return to their regular routes.
Construction work has also been completed at Berliner Platz, meaning that the Behördenzentrum stop (in the direction of Wieseck) can be moved closer to the Berliner Platz stop. Long walks between the two stops are now a thing of the past. Please note: The Behördenzentrum stop is divided into two sections. The front section of the stop bay is intended for the suburban lines 51 and 520. The rear section is for the city bus lines 5, 12 and 15.
Up-to-date information on the network and on the phone
Passengers can obtain information on the changes by calling the SWG service number 0641 708-1400, on the Internet at www.stadtwerke-giessen.de or www.rmv.de and at the mobility centre in the customer centre on Marktplatz. Opening hours: Mondays to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
10.12.2013