The City of Vienna has ambitious targets for improving cooperation by road users and has launched a fairness initiative, “tschuldigen: for a fair city and friendly Vienna”,  with a view to breaking down clichés and making people more aware of one another.

“Vienna’s inhabitants are familiar with the confrontations that take place every day on the roads,” says executive city councillor for transport Maria Vassilakou, who is keen to heighten awareness and encourage greater mutual consideration.

Increasing the feeling of safety

The City of Vienna’s transport policy aims not only at developing environmentally friendly transport but also at increasing the feeling of safety. “Our aim is to make road users in Vienna feel safer – on foot, on bicycles and in cars. This calls for more consideration and a greater sense of fairness,” says Vassilakou.

Start of campaign

The awareness campaign started on 1 June 2012 with a broad media mix combining promotional events, posters, leaflets and social media activities.

Ticket machines in several languages

As an improved service for passengers, Vienna’s public transport operator Wiener Linien has introduced new language options at its ticket machines. Menus and screen texts can now be displayed in German and ten foreign languages: in addition to English, French and Italian, the texts have been translated into Russian, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Slovenian and Croatian.

More service for international guests

This means that guests from all neighbouring states of Austria and from the nine main tourist origins to Vienna can purchase tickets in their mother tongue. Public transport is an ideal option for tourists in Vienna; it is a fast, comfortable and inexpensive way to explore the city’s sights. The most popular tickets sold at ticket machines are the 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour pass.