Anyone who regularly travels by tram has certainly experienced this annoyance: a car parked on the side of the road protrudes so far into the road that the tram cannot pass. It takes some time for the police and towing service to get to the spot – the trams that follow are also enormously late.
The mobility department is now taking action against this in several places. The city has now set up no stopping on Ismaninger Strasse between Bogenstrasse and Langerstrasse so that the tram is not obstructed by parked cars. New markings were applied on Pacellistrasse at the transition to Promenadeplatz – here, too, the tram was often unable to continue due to parked cars, and accidents also occurred.
New stopping restrictions and markings should also ensure that the tram can get through on Barer Strasse and Rumfordstrasse. In the coming weeks and months it will be the turn of sections in Possartstrasse, Thierschstrasse and Wagmüllerstrasse, as well as in Gulbranssonstrasse, Putzbrunnerstrasse, St. Bonifatiusstrasse and Wörthstrasse.
The bus traffic should also move faster, with better traffic light circuits. When the timetable changes on December 11, city bus routes 143 and 162 will be accelerated. For this purpose, a large part of the traffic lights on the respective route have already been converted, which means that the buses can request their green light by radio. According to the mobility department, around 800 of the 1,100 traffic lights in Munich are equipped with bus acceleration. In 2023, the traffic lights on lines 173, 175 and 177 are also to be adjusted.
The department announced that the new measures had little impact on road traffic. “Buses and trams must be on the road without delays so that they represent an attractive and comfortable alternative to private cars,” says mobility officer Georg Dunkel. Even small changes can have a big impact.
For larger measures such as new bus lanes, the lead time is longer. It is often not enough to simply eliminate parking spaces. Some streets and intersections, such as recently on Schäftlarnstraße and Brudermühlstraße, have to be partially rebuilt for this. Because of the parking spaces, the bus lanes in particular repeatedly lead to discussions in the city council. The Munich transport company (MVG) sees bus transport as a quick way to make local public transport more attractive. MVG currently operates 81 bus lines and 15 night bus lines on a route network of 546 kilometers with 1070 stops. You have around 30 kilometers of bus lanes at your disposal – in a road network that is around 2,330 kilometers long.