For some time now, Austria's largest bus operator, Dr. Richard the smorgasbord of brands that has accumulated over decades. The Styrian subsidiary Watzke will also appear under the brand name of the parent company, Dr. Richard, up.

The Viennese company not only grew under its own steam, but also took over competitors such as Südburg, Austrobus, Salzkraft, Watzke, Albus and many others over many decades. One concentrates now on a uniform appearance as Dr. Richard and gradually sets up the brand appearances, which in any case mostly only differed by a different lettering. Travel agencies remain unaffected. These will continue to be on the market as Columbus.

Columbus and Dr. Richard have a common history and a similar shareholder structure, but they are separate groups of companies that work closely together. Both groups are owned by different members of the Richard family. There are no external co-owners.

While as Columbus you focus on the classic travel agency business including business travel, as Dr. Richard buses and coaches. The company considers itself the largest bus operator in the Germany-Austria-Switzerland region, as it also has branches in Munich and Zurich, which have grown rapidly. On behalf of Flixbus, various long-distance bus lines are operated from the Federal Republic of Germany. Recently you can also drive for the competitor Pinkbus.

In Austria, people are active in public transport both within the framework of transport associations and on their own account. Occasionally you also drive as a subcontractor for other concessionaires, for example Wiener Linien. Long-distance buses are operated with their own concession as a Flixbus franchisee on the routes Vienna-Graz and Graz Airport Vienna. These are not included in the climate ticket. the Long-distance bus line G1, which leads from the federal capital to southern Burgenland, can be used with the nationwide network card.

Furthermore, Dr. Richard and Columbus also offer holiday trips with coaches. Another mainstay in this segment is rental with the provision of a driver, for example for school trips, events or other purposes for which a bus is required. According to their own statements, the group-wide fleet now consists of more than 1.000 vehicles.