The Austrian climate ticket is advertised with the slogan "One for all". Contrary to what the advertising would suggest, not all public transport is included. For example, almost all domestic Austrian long-distance bus lines, the City Airport Train and the Vienna Airport Lines are excluded.

There are not particularly many long-distance bus routes within Austria, but these represent a very useful addition in some cases, as they primarily operate on routes on which the travel time by train would be significantly longer. Included in the climate ticket are those of Dr. Richard operated routes G1 (Güssing-Vienna) and 311 (Gleisdorf-Vienna) as well as the ÖBB intercity buses operated by Postbus - for example between Graz and Klagenfurt.

Blaguss Reisen and Dr. Richard are concessionaires on some inner-Austrian routes that are marketed as Flixbus under a franchise agreement. However, the German group is not the customer, but the two Austrian companies operate the routes on their own account. dr Richard drives between Graz and Vienna as well Graz and Vienna Airport. There is a boarding opportunity on the route, which is particularly popular with people from southern Burgenland.

The competitor Blaguss Reisen has, among other things, the inner-Austrian routes Klagenfurt-Vienna and Graz-Linz in its portfolio. In St. Michael there is the possibility to change trains, so that Klagenfurt can also be reached from Linz. Theoretically, you can also change trains to Vienna, but due to the significantly longer travel time compared to the ÖBB or Westbahn, this is likely to be used seldom.

Climate protection ministry refers to transport associations

The question of why the domestic Austrian long-distance bus services offered under the Flixbus brand are not included is not that easy to answer. The operators (Blaguss and Dr. Richard) refer to a decision by the Ministry of Climate Protection. A spokeswoman for the BMK explained to Aviation.Direct, among other things: "According to the regulation of the Federal Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology on the introduction of the climate ticket on the basis of the climate ticket law, the CAT as a pure feeder to a traffic junction is not covered by the climate ticket . Alternatively, you can use the S-Bahn to get to the airport. In the case of buses, the starting point is not the operator (e.g. Postbus or Dr. Richard), but whether the company is integrated into the respective association, which is not the case with the routes of Flixbus or Blaguss and the VAL operated by Postbus. The integration of further routes is therefore primarily in the competence of the respective transport associations". Furthermore, it is pointed out that the climate ticket homepage would show exactly where the network card is valid.

If you were to interpret the logic of the ministry's arguments strictly, the climate ticket for the private railway companies Westbahn and Regiojet would have to be invalid, because they do not belong to any transport association. However, both companies are partners of the climate ticket and grant their passengers some goodies. A portrait of climate ticket travel with the Westbahn is with this link provided. What Regiojet offers on board the trains will be examined in more detail in this report.

Blaguss and Dr. Richard criticize

Blaguss Reisen is obviously not happy that the climate ticket cannot be accepted on Flixbus routes within Austria. A spokeswoman told Aviation.Direct: "Of course we would welcome it if the domestic Austrian long-distance bus routes were included in the climate ticket". However, they do not want to comment on the details and refer to the BMK.

The competitor Dr. Richard, whose media officer did not shy away from criticizing the ministry: "The climate ticket is misleadingly advertised as "All public transport in Austria with a single ticket". Some of our passengers bought the climate ticket in the belief that it was also valid on long-distance buses. These people are very disappointed with the climate ticket, and at least some will cancel it or let it expire if it is still not valid on long-distance buses. In this respect, the integration of the long-distance bus lines into the climate ticket would certainly be in the interest of some of our passengers. We would therefore welcome the integration, even if we do not expect any significant economic benefit from it. Until that happens, the long-distance bus lines will probably remain the last non-tourist public transport that is financed entirely without tax money”.

When asked why the inclusion in the climate ticket was rejected, the spokeswoman for the travel group Dr. Richard as follows: "There was no explicit reason other than "currently not planned". The BMK is fundamentally very skeptical about long-distance bus lines, fearing large passenger losses for the train. However, this danger does not exist due to the very low rail tariffs in Austria. From 2015-2019, our two long-distance bus lines between Graz and Vienna had enormous increases in passenger numbers, while at the same time demand on the parallel southern railway line also increased sharply. The additional supply has therefore led to more demand overall”.

Early bird users will have to pay more from October 2022

In summary, based on the statements by the Ministry of Climate Protection and the two bus companies, it can be said that there is currently no prospect of the Flixbus routes within Austria being able to be used with the climate ticket in the foreseeable future. Incidentally, the same applies to the City Airport Train as well as those operated by Postbus Vienna Airport Lines. However, the ÖBB intercity buses, which are also operated by Postbus, are included in the climate ticket.

There will also be a "price increase" for network card holders in October 2022. As part of an introductory campaign, the climate ticket, which is valid nationwide, was sold at a significantly reduced price. The discounted costs are not carried over into the second year, either with a one-time payment or with a monthly subscription. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Climate Protection confirmed on request that this was a one-off campaign: "The early bird discount was a one-off campaign when the climate ticket was introduced, so there is no fundamental right to a renewed discount if it is extended. As of the end of April there were 158.000 active KlimaTicket customers”.

Is a Flixbus a coach or a means of mass transport?

A correspondence between Aviation.Direct and the Austrian Ministry of Health dealt with exactly this question. The background was that on test drives with two foreign long-distance bus operators on Vienna-Bratislava-Vienna, neither the passengers nor the drivers wore masks. Even the army, which had carried out an inspection in Kittsee, was not bothered by it. In contrast to Austria, Slovakia does not have a mask requirement on public transport. The Alpine Republic insists, at least officially, on FFP2 masks.

The first request to the Ministry of Health - subject to the conditions described in the previous paragraph - whether FFP2 masks are compulsory on long-distance buses or was answered by a spokesman as follows: "The following is stated in the legal justification for the 1st COVID-19 BMV: Detained that there is no general obligation to wear masks in closed rooms in connection with the use of coaches and excursion boats as well as cable cars and cog railways. These are not covered by the term "mass means of transport" because they are services that cannot be assigned to the everyday and vital area".

Since the answer does not provide any information as to whether you have to wear masks on long-distance buses or not, since these could well be interpreted as “travel buses” in the “vernacular”, it was explicitly asked whether you had to wear a mask “on the Flixbus” or not. Incidentally, the spokesman for the Ministry of Health did not respond to the described “incidents” that no masks were worn on board by two Flix competitors and that the army was not bothered either.

The "Flixbus question" was answered by the media officer as follows: "From a legal point of view, Flixbuses (and comparable providers) are mass transport vehicles and there is therefore a mask requirement".