jueves, 29 de mayo de 2008

Vienna has put the finishing touches to its transport plans for UEFA EURO 2008™ with visitors being urged to take full advantage of local public transport.

Special arrangements
Transport councilor Rudolf Schicker, city transport chief Josef Binder and Michael Lichtenegger of local transport operator Wiener Lienen jointly unveiled the final draft of their plan for the tournament. They are expecting an additional 500,000 guests to use the transport network on top of the 2.2m who use it every working day and have made special arrangements to ensure smooth operation.

Opening hours
Capacity on underground lines will be increased by 25 per cent throughout the day and by as much as 50 per cent on evenings to deal with the increased football-related traffic. Local transport services will operate until 1.30 in the morning throughout the tournament, with Viennese authorities hoping fans will put their faith in public transport during the finals.

Car parking
Vienna wants to keep road traffic at a minimum for the finals, and has set up a number of free parking areas at the edge of the city, close to local train and underground stations, to encourage fans to leave their vehicles outside Vienna, although a clear signposting system has been set up to enable visiting drivers to find their way around the city streets.

EURO Companions
Visiting fans can pick up a leaflet entitled Traffic & Service which provides details of the transport options available in the city, with 100,000 having been printed. In addition, so-called EURO Companions – Vienna transport staff who can speak foreign languages – will be on hand to provide guests with information about train, underground and bus services in the Austrian capital.