The new regional bus transport concept in the Donauraum-Perg region is proving to be a complete success: passenger numbers have risen significantly since the start of operations in August 2024. In 2025, around 1.8 million passengers used the regional bus service in the region - an increase of 9 per cent compared to the previous year. This confirms that targeted service improvements on the important main axes lead directly to more use.
As part of the reallocation of regional bus services in the Danube Region-Perg region, the state of Upper Austria and the Upper Austrian Transport Association implemented a comprehensive expansion package in August 2024. This involved significantly increasing passenger capacity by adding additional routes and connections, increasing the frequency of scheduled services, extending operating times and optimising connections to the JKU for students and university staff. The Mauthausen - Steyregg - Linz axis via Urfahr was also significantly expanded with around fifteen hourly bus connections on weekdays. These timetable improvements were supplemented by, among other things, a new transfer-free service between Perg and Freistadt and improved accessibility to Linz's harbour district/Industriezeile.
The implementation of the new regional bus transport concept has created around 140,000 additional timetable kilometres per year. In total, the 28 regional bus routes in the Danube Region-Perg have covered 2.5 million timetabled kilometres per year since August 2024.
Expansion of services shows effect
"The rising passenger numbers clearly show that where we expand the services and consistently align them with people's needs, public transport is also used more frequently," emphasises Provincial Councillor for Mobility and Infrastructure Günther Steinkellner . "The new award in the Donauraum-Perg region is a successful example of how we can encourage more people to switch to regional buses by consistently expanding bus services on the main routes."
Significant increases in passenger numbers can be measured on all main routes:
- Line 345 Linz - Katsdorf - Pregarten: + 13 per cent to 123,202 passengers
- Line 380: Amstetten - Grein - Waldhausen: + 15 per cent to 118,817 passengers
- Lines 360, 361, 362: Linz - Luftenberg - Mauthausen: + 16 per cent to 549,374 passengers in 2025
Increase of 75 per cent for direct connection Perg - Pregarten - Hagenberg - Freistadt
The new direct connection between Perg and Hagenberg and Freistadt has established itself very successfully: the number of passengers on route 350 rose from 78,196 in 2023 to 136,486 in 2025, which corresponds to an increase of around 75 per cent. "The high level of popularity confirms that the new direct connection is a very important and necessary expansion of the service for people in the region and makes it easier to switch from car to public transport," summarises Klaus Wimmer, Managing Director of OÖ Verkehrsverbund Gesellschaft.
Backbone of regional mobility
"Alongside rail connections, regional bus services are a central backbone of the public transport system and for many people the most important access to mobility in rural areas. The successful development in the Donauraum-Perg region shows that investments in the quality, quantity and reliability of public transport have an immediate effect," concludes Klaus Wimmer .