Garmisch-Partenkirchen – Although the municipal council had voted back in 2024 to return these responsibilities, an agreement was only reached in November. Through negotiations mediated by the government of Upper Bavaria, it was decided that the district will resume its responsibilities no earlier than January 1, 2028, but no later than December 31, 2028.
Dr. Sabine Wagner from the Garmisch-Partenkirchen municipal utilities explained that basic public transport provision will revert to the district, while the municipality will be financially responsible for its own specific requests, such as stops that the district deems to lack inter-municipal significance. The municipal council agreed to this decision at the special meeting, with only council member Dr. Anton Hofer (Ga+Pa miteinander) voting against.
This led to the next question: should the municipality join the MVV starting January 1, 2026, as the district plans to do? Dr. Markus Haller from the MVV presented the implications of such a move to the council. Tickets for local buses will become cheaper. Initially, the bus routes themselves will not change, but they will operate under new numbers. Routes 1, 2, 4, and 5 will become lines 321, 322, 324, and 325. The last digit will be retained to help guests with orientation, but the renumbering is necessary to avoid duplication within the MVV network. However, this transition involves costs.
Calculations and Costs
The initial costs for joining the MVV will be approximately €32,000, arising from factors such as the modernization of local buses and stops. Annual administrative costs will be around €53,000. Due to lower ticket prices, the municipal utilities will face an estimated annual revenue shortfall of up to €120,000. Dr. Haller clarified in his presentation that this is an extrapolation based on last year’s ticket sales, but it is quite possible that the losses will be lower than projected due to an increase in ticket sales.
Compensation payments under the MVV tariff are borne by the local transport authority, which is currently still the municipality. The annual administrative and compensation costs will transfer to the district once it becomes the transport authority again.
A significant point of discussion was the status of guest cards (“Gästekarten”), as it has not yet been determined how they will be handled from January onward after joining the MVV. After the issue was raised by Dr. Sabine Wagner, Michael Simon (SPD) sought clarification on the details, and Dr. Anton Hofer also wanted to know about the cards’ status from January 1st.
“We are in the process of finding a transitional solution,” assured Dr. Haller from the MVV. Negotiations are currently underway with the Zugspitze region to determine which zones the guest card should cover. Simon expressed satisfaction with this but emphasized the importance of a swift decision.
In the end, the municipal council voted in favor of joining the Munich Transport and Tariff Association, and once again, the sole vote against was cast by Dr. Anton Hofer.
Source: Proceedings of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen municipal council special meeting.
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