Cable car plans in Bonn Traffic relief for employees

Bonn · The telekom likes plans for cable car in Bonn. The route, now presented in a feasibility study, would connect the Rheinaue with Dottendorf and the Venusberg, going past the Post tower.

Bonn largest employer, the telekom, has shown interest in crossing the Rhine. The company offers a shuttle service between several sites already, anyway. Post, Postband and the chamber of industry and commerce (IHK) have not yet commented on the plans.

Commuting still means driving to work for most people in the city. The large employers in Bonn are interested in helping their employees avoid being stuck in traffic jams every day. A few companies view the plans for a cable car on the Venusberg as a chance to do that. First and foremost is the Deutsche Telekom.

„We started listening attentively when we heard that the route is supposed to go across the Rhine“, says Stephan Althoff, spokesperson of the communication company. The cable car would be the fastest connection between the two biggest administration sites in the city. According to the spokesperson, the Telekom is rather open-minded about supporting commuter traffic projects like the cable car. It wouldn’t be the first time: Already in 2006 there has been a sponsoring of the line 66 city trams, marking them as the „Telekom-Express“.

Hope for a relief in the traffic situation

Along the B9, on the left and right side of the Friedrich-Ebert-Alle, approximately 4,000 people work in offices during the day. On the Campus I and II along the Beueler Landgrabenweg, 5,000 people work for the Telekom. The company hopes for a relief in the traffic situation around their office buildings if the possible route connects with the fast tram 13 in Ramersdorf, parallel to the Südbrücke. As reported, that route is part of the feasibility study, commissioned by the city council, who considers such a cable car expedient.

„Many people complain about the commute to work every morning“, says Althoff. The planned construction work on the A 59, the Tausendfüßler and the bridges across the Rhine is being watched with concern. „We are very interested in easing the traffic situation“, says Althoff, adding that he sees the city council and the federal state obliged to improve the traffic infrastructure.

The chance to cost efficiently lease bicycles and e-bikes for the commute through a compensation scheme ia widely accepted. To avoid their employees having to crisscross through the city, the Telekom already offers a shuttle service to and from its sites - including stops at the Propsthof, the Bonner Talweg and the former tram depot at the Graurheindorfer Straße. Also as part of the line are the airport Cologne-Bonn and the ICE train station in Siegburg. The Telekom also offers rental bikes and free parking at the work place.

With 14,500 employees, the company is the largest employer in the city. Most Telekom commuters are from Bonn and the region, according to a survey with 6,261 employees taking part. 1109 of the respondents are commuting for more than an hour - each way. Some employees are searching for alternatives by using the motorcycle or the bike. In internal reactions, some people voiced the wish for the development of better cycling routes. Many are in very bad condition and therefore dangerous to use.

Round table planned to discuss the cable car

The Deutsche Post DHL Group with approximately 8,000 employees in Bonn and more than 20 sites on the left side of the Rhine did not comment directly on the cable car plans - also because the company does not have any offices near the Venusberg. „In this context it is hard to judge how many employees would benefit from the cable car“, says spokesperson Dan McGrath. There is better value parking at the Post Tower. There are offers of job tickets, with which the parking fees can be subsidised. At each site the Post has parking spaces for bicycles, showers and changing rooms. Like the Telekom, the Post and the Postbank offer a Shuttleservice.

The Postbank does not want to go into detail, but has shown interest in improving the traffic infrastructure. The 3,200 employees should be able to avail of an easy connection to their workplace, according to spokesperson Ralf Palm. The four main sites are Friedrich-Ebert-Allee, Kennedyallee/ Ahrstraße, Baunscheidt- and Reuterstraße, near the Reuterbrücke. Parking is free, but limited. Park?Palm says the job ticket is very popular.

Too many uncertainties for the chamber of industry and commerce (IHK) Bonn/Rhein-Sieg, says spokesperson Michael Pieck, „therefore we have to still form our opinion on the cable car in the various IHK boards“. As reported, the cable car is supposed to offer relief for car and bus traffic near the university hospitals on the Venusberg. Thomas Baum, expert form the VSU GmbH, stated that 7,000 commuters would use the northern route across the Hindenburgplatz, daily. For the southern route (Telekom) it would be up to 5,500. The cable car - as part of the Bonn public traffic system - would be wheelchair accessible, and bikes could be transported in the bigger gondolas.

Straßen NRW is now asking the large employers in Bonn as well as other economic representatives to a round table meeting to discuss traffic in the city and the repair of the city’s motorways. This is scheduled to take place on July 5.

Original text: Richard Bongartz, Phillip Königs

Translation: Mareike Graepel

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