Following the re-commissioning of extra-urban bus services, SASA is all set to take on a series of new bus routes from 14 November 2021. The second batch of newly re-allocated bus routes will be operated by SASA starting from 12 December 2021.
On Sunday 14 November 2021, SASA – an in-house company of the South Tyrolean government – will start operating some 30 new bus routes that were recently transferred to the company in a service contract signed with the provincial government. The contract stipulates that SASA will be commissioned with all bus routes running between the respective catchment areas and the city centres of Bolzano/Bozen and Merano/Meran.
In a statement thanking the management team at SASA and all the companies and staff involved for their commitment, South Tyrol Minister for Mobility Daniel Alfreider explained that “this is a first and crucial step in the reorganisation of bus services across South Tyrol. All those responsible are pulling together very closely to ensure that the handover is a smooth process.”
No timetables changes
The existing timetables will continue to apply unchanged. With SASA taking on around 30 bus routes, special attention will be paid to the quality of services during this transition phase, as Martin Vallazza, head of the provincial government’s Mobility Department, stressed: “The take-over of bus services in all of South Tyrol will be gradual, and we will accompany the process throughout the coming year – because this transaction is about more than just the introduction of new vehicles: It also involves the entire data management and ticketing system.”
No ticket validation machines on some buses: check in online with your Südtirol Pass
Initially, not every bus will be equipped with on-board ticket validation machines. During a transitional period, this will affect the following routes:
- 120 Salorno/Salurn – Bolzano/Bozen
- 132 Caldaro/Kaltern – Bolzano/Bozen
- 133 Bassa Atesina/Unterland – Oltradige/Überetsch – Bolzano/Bozen (school-run services)
- 237 Merano/Meran – Lagundo/Algund – Plars di Sopra/Oberplars
- 244 Lauregno/Deutschnonsberg – Val d’Ultimo/Ulten
- 246 Fondo – Passo Palade/Gampenpass – Merano/Meran
We therefore kindly ask all Südtirol Pass and Euregio Family Pass holders to use their smartphone to check in and validate their ticket online before departing. Südtirol Pass abo+, 65+ and free tickets must simply be shown upon request.
Step two of the transition on 11 December
After an EU-wide tender for the ten available lots, i.e. catchment areas, and the publication of a preliminary ranking of the offers submitted, a series of statutory checks were initiated. Since those checks have yet to be completed, on 9 November the provincial government decided to postpone the handover of the remaining extra-urban bus routes until 11 December 2021: Until then, the current transport operators will remain in charge of providing the services in question. The new operators will then take over on 12 December 2021, the day on which the winter timetables become effective.