Recently shut down, now active again: The Omobi shuttle service is scheduled to run again in Murnau (Garmisch-Partenkirchen district) from this Friday. The company announced this on Thursday on its website and on social networks. The local bus is back in service “not even six weeks after the positive referendum,” it says.
The award-winning project had previously been the subject of dispute for months. Omobi’s minibuses can be ordered via app or by phone, with an attempt being made to combine as many journeys as possible into one. Such on-demand systems are being discussed nationwide as a way to promote local public transport in rural areas. But the public sector usually has to be willing to take the money into their own hands: a fare of 2.50 euros, as with Omobi, cannot cover the costs. The same applies, however, to the many normal buses that often trundle half-empty across the country.
Nevertheless, the Murnau municipal council pulled the handbrake in view of the costs – with the result that from July onwards not only Omobi no longer drove in Murnau, but no public transport at all. In a referendum at the end of July, a majority then spoke out in favor of the call bus. The recommissioning now implements the decision.
“The biggest challenge was to make the driver team complete again in the short time after we had to say goodbye to some at the end of June due to the break in operations,” said Omobi Managing Director Robert Schotten. The new contract initially runs until the end of 2024. Then the expansion of the on-demand system to the entire northern district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen is planned.