District council intervenes: Vorpommern-Greifswald takes over Anklamer Verkehrsgesellschaft!

District council intervenes: Vorpommern-Greifswald takes over Anklamer Verkehrsgesellschaft!

There are new developments affecting local public transport in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district. The district council approved the purchase of the Anklamer Verkehrsgesellschaft (AVG) with a large majority. The impressive result of the vote shows that only two members abstained while no votes against were recorded. The district is paying a total of six million euros for the acquisition of AVG, which will in future operate as a subsidiary of the district's own transport company Vorpommern-Greifswald (VVG). The notary appointment for the purchase will take place on Tuesday and the changes are scheduled for November 1st. This means that the takeover date originally planned for January 1, 2028 has been brought forward.

Deputy District Councilor Jörg Hasselmann describes the quick takeover as an opportunity to maintain local public transport in the district. This haste is not unfounded; AVG is faced with a difficult financial situation and needs support. In order to strengthen the VVG, the district is also providing a guarantee of 4.8 million euros. Almost 60 AVG employees can therefore hope for planning security, but the challenges in local transport remain. The management of AVG has actually blamed the district administration in part for the financial difficulties, alleging that state authorities and the administration have acted against their interests.

Bus fleet under pressure

However, the situation for AVG is tense. According to reports from daily news For economic reasons, AVG has to sell some buses in order to survive. The district plans to take over some of these buses and nearby operating areas. At a meeting of the district council in Pasewalk it became clear that AVG had operated independently in the past without public subsidies, which has recently proven to be disadvantageous. The introduction of the Deutschlandticket and the general price development have led to significant losses.

A year ago, AVG had already made offers to the district to take over or buy buses, but these were rejected. AVG is currently planning to sell almost a third of its bus fleet as it holds the concession for the bus routes until the end of 2027. District Administrator Michael Sack (CDU) emphasizes that it is both the right and the duty of AVG to organize bus transport and urges timely negotiations with the management.

Demand for fair negotiations

Anklam's mayor Michael Galander urgently urges that the negotiations be balanced and fair in the interests of the employees. He expresses concerns about the previous dealings with AVG and the need for sensible discussions with UBB to find a solution that addresses both the needs of employees and the challenges in local transport. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop, but the signs point to exciting, if not turbulent, times for local public transport in Western Pomerania-Greifswald.