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Vienna businesses welcome night-time underground service

An all-night underground service to operate on Friday and Saturday nights and begin this summer has been welcomed by Vienna�s taxis, restaurants and tourist board.

Vienna Tourism Office chief Norbert Kettner said yesterday (Mon): "That is a real gift for us." He explained that the all-night service would give the city the character of a metropolis and enhance its image as a dynamic city.

Kettner cited the example of Berlin, where all-night underground services had made its nightlife more dynamic.

He added, however, that his office would not use the all-night service in its advertising.

Heinrich Frey from the Vienna Economic Chamber (WKW) said an all-night underground service would not pose any threat to taxi drivers.

"When more people are moving around, it is always better for the taxi business," he noted, adding that night buses had resulted in more business for taxi drivers.

He predicted the new service would result in more suburban fares for taxi drivers as many people would want a ride home from outlying underground stations.

Josef Bitzinger from WKW added that night spots open after midnight would also benefit from the new service. The question of whether to take the last underground would no longer be asked on weekends, he said.

Trains will run every quarter of an hour during the night over weekends and will start in around six months, Vienna public transport agency Wiener Linien said last month.

A spokesman said the cost of the service every 15 minutes would not be much higher than for every half-hour and the annual cost would be around five million Euros.
City Hall announced last month that 53.98 per cent of city residents who had voted in a city referendum from 11 to 13 February had endorsed a nightime underground service at weekends.

Austrian Times

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