More carriages, bigger buses, denser frequency - tightrope walk between passenger interest and available staff
(ffm) As announced, trains and buses in Frankfurt am Main have been operating according to an intensified Sunday timetable since Monday, 30 March, due to the Corona pandemic. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, the regular Sunday timetable applies.
After initial experience, the city of Frankfurt with its local transport company traffiQ, the VGF and the bus companies is responding to the needs of passengers and is readjusting and increasing capacity on some lines. All improvements apply from Monday to Friday (with the exception of upcoming holidays).
From Monday, 6. April
On the subway line U5 (Preungesheim - Hauptbahnhof) the trains run between about 7 and 8 o'clock partly every seven to eight minutes.
Tram line 11 (Höchst - Fechenheim) runs every ten minutes from about 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Tram line 16 (Ginnheim - Offenbach city limits) has a new, more consistent schedule. The trains running in the early morning on partial routes are now on the entire route.
The bus line 25 starts its operation already at 5.30 a.m.
On almost all bus lines in the west of Frankfurt there are changes, which are reflected in the timetable information. This can be found at www.rmv-frankfurt.de on the Internet.
Since Thursday, 2 April
The bus line 51 (Industriepark Höchst Tor Ost - Niederrad Triftstraße) condenses its offer already from the start of operation at 4.24 o'clock from the half-hourly to a quarter-hourly frequency.
Since Wednesday, 1 April
The bus line 37 (main station - Gutleutviertel letter center) doubles its service between 6 and 9 o'clock and between 13.30 and 18 clock to a 15-minute frequency.
On the bus line 27 (Nieder-Eschbach - Preungesheim) run standard buses, which offer more space than the usual midibuses there.
The minibuses on routes 24 (Kalbach U-Bahn-Station - Frischezentrum), 60 (Heddernheim - Alt-Eschersheim, only temporarily) and 69 (Eschersheim Weißer Stein - Dornbusch Hügelstraße) will be replaced by midibuses, so that there is also more space available on the bus there. The replacement of minibuses on line 25 (Nieder-Erlenbach - Berkersheim Bahnhof) unfortunately fails due to a lack of turning facilities at the S-Bahn station.
Since Tuesday, March 31
Further subway lines are equipped with additional cars. Apart from the U9 line, all subway lines run at 15-minute intervals in the morning hours.
Line 21 (Nied Kirche - Stadion tram) has been reinforced and now runs at 15-minute intervals, like other lines, already in the morning.
The update of the information in the timetable information (Internet and app) was and will be made in each case as soon as possible.
The passenger numbers have declined sharply since the beginning of the Corona crisis. At the same time, the transport companies are struggling with increased sick leave and staff absences, for example due to childcare. traffiQ and the transport companies involved are walking a fine line between being able to offer a reliable basic service and at the same time ensuring staffing requirements.
The development will continue to be actively monitored and indications from passengers and driving personnel will be evaluated in order to be able to readjust if necessary.
