Elbe cycling bus “Elbe-Radwanderbus”

The Elbe cycling bus was implemented on the one hand due to the lack of public transport opportunities on weekends in the district and on the other hand to give visitors the possibility to reach points of interests without using their car. Furthermore, it was the wish to enable cyclers as well as hikers to increase their radius of movement car-free. The Elbe cycling bus started in 2009. Since then it moves from mid-April til 3rd October on weekends and official holidays through the district. A second line started in 2019. There is a timetable for both lines which is connected to other parts of public transport such as ferries, trains and busses i.e. passengers are able to combine public transport according to their needs. Since its implementation more than 47,000 people used the bus. Although they have to pay for the bus there is a deficit every year that is settled by county administration and local government. The main stakeholders are county administration, local government, KVG as transport company, VNO for planning the schedule, Kreissparkasse Stade and Sparkasse Stade Altes Land as supporters and the Tourismusverband Landkreis Stade/Elbe e.V. which is responsible for marketing and communication. Local residents as well as tourists benefit from this offer. From the feedback we get, we learned that even older residents with low income use the bus for a nice weekend excursion.