Funding for a larger transport association for the greater Nuremberg area

• Counties of Coburg, Hof, Kulmbach, Kronach, Wunsiedel i. Fichtelgebirge, Tirschenreuth and independent cities of Coburg and Hof part of the VGN since January 1, 2024
• Free State bears most of the costs of the expansion
• Transport Minister Bernreiter: "Uniform tariff for bus and rail in Bavaria's largest transport association"

Good news for the new year: on January 1, the districts of Coburg, Hof, Kulmbach, Kronach, Wunsiedel i. Fichtelgebirge, Tirschenreuth and the independent cities of Coburg and Hof joined the Greater Nuremberg Transport Association (VGN). Bavaria's Minister of Transport, Christian Bernreiter, presented the municipalities with a grant of 28.2 million euros today at the train station in Neuenmarkt in the district of Kulmbach: "With this expansion, the VGN is expanding its status as the largest transport association in Bavaria in terms of area. 600,000 citizens in the expansion area will now benefit from the attractive network tariff, standardized passenger information and coordinated transport services. This brings the city and surrounding area even closer together! As the Free State of Bavaria, we are supporting the expansion and are covering almost 90 percent of the costs for the conversion of ticket machines, new ticket printers and timetable displays. In addition, the Free State will compensate for a large part of the transport companies' loss of revenue in the coming years, as the tickets in the VGN are often cheaper than the previous ones."

"The VGN brings regions together with a standardized system; it strengthens both tourism and leisure activities between different cities and municipalities. With the help of the funding, joining the VGN contributes to sustainable and future-oriented mobility," says Eva Döhla, Mayor of the city of Hof.

Kulmbach's District Administrator Klaus Peter Söllner: "The VGN expansion has been a major strategic goal for us for years and the most important project for sustainable mobility in the northern Bavarian region and for the integration of urban and rural areas in the European Metropolitan Region of Nuremberg (EMN). Joining on January 1, 2024 was only possible with the help of enormous financial support from the Free State of Bavaria for the districts of Kulmbach, Kronach, Hof, Coburg, Wunsiedel i. Fichtelgebirge and Tirschenreuth, the independent cities of Coburg and Hof and the transport companies in the region. On behalf of all public transport authorities and companies, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the citizens of the region for the funding already provided since 2019, the upcoming funding measures this year and the funding extending into 2035 - a funding decision for regional and local public transport in this amount is unique!"

Nuremberg's Lord Mayor Marcus König, Chairman of the VGN Association, thanks the Free State: "The Free State's support for the expansion of the VGN is also a very important contribution to cooperation in the Nuremberg metropolitan region. Today, the VGN is more or less the transport association of the metropolitan region. It connects the various centers and rural areas, the participating cities and districts as equal partners. This means that all members can pull in the same direction when it comes to developing local transport.

Andreas Mäder, VGN Managing Director: "By the time the VGN expands on January 1, 2024, we will have already enjoyed four years of close and successful cooperation with the new partners, which we will continue in the transport association in the tried and tested manner, including with the Free State of Bavaria, which creates the financial framework conditions for public transport. Our task is to further develop local transport in our metropolitan region into a comprehensive, efficient and climate-friendly transport system. In addition to the uniform tariffs, even more people are now benefiting from our digital services such as egon, the real-time information service, the VGN app and the online store. In this way, we are removing barriers and bringing even more people onto public transport."

Thanks to the expansion, the VGN now comprises a total of 22 districts and ten independent cities with around 3.5 million inhabitants and covers an area of almost 20,400 square kilometers. Sonneberg station in Thuringia has also been integrated.This makes the VGN area larger than the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony or Rhineland-Palatinate. Transport Minister Bernreiter: "I am delighted that this expansion could be implemented thanks to the financial support of the Free State of Bavaria. Transport associations are central to the further development of public transport! After all, not all passengers have a Deutschlandticket. Occasional users in particular are more likely to buy a network ticket, with which they can travel very far. After all, the VGN offers a uniform fare on more than 1,000 bus and train lines throughout the entire network area!"

The expansion was also made possible thanks to the funding program for the creation of nationwide network structures, with which the Free State of Bavaria provides financial support for network expansions and start-ups throughout Bavaria. In the case of the VGN expansion, the Free State has already funded the preparatory basic study with 2.5 million euros. It also provides up to 90 percent of the one-off and permanent costs associated with network integration.