The ACA audited the Verkehrsauskunft Österreich

The report published today on the Verkehrsauskunft Österreich VAO GmbH (traffic information Austria) resulted from the Austrian Court of Audit's (ACA) initiative regarding citizen engagement, in the framework of which citizens could submit suggestions for audits to the ACA. The Verkehrsauskunft Österreich developed and is operating the same-named route planner. The route planner comprises public transport, such as trains and busses, private transport, such as cars and bicycles, as well as walkways. The audit was carried out prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications on transport. The audited period spanned the years from 2014 through 2018.

Simultaneously with the Verkehrsauskunft Österreich, the ticket shop of the Austrian Public Railways (ÖBB) and the “wegfinder” (route finder) application were developed – namely in the period of 2010 to 2014. The Verkehrsauskunft Österreich, which was largely financed via public funds, and the ÖBB ticket shop – also financed via public funds – used the same basic software and commissioned the same IT company for the routing. Moreover: the two projects “Buchungsmaschine Tirol” (booking application Tyrol) and “ÖV 2022” pursue the goal to establish a countrywide booking platform that includes as many transport associations, urban transport networks and public transport companies as possible, while also providing routing information. The ACA’s auditors evaluated the requests made via the Verkehrsauskunft Österreich for two weeks. The results indicated 1.49 million requests per day. As a result of the competition, it is likely that the Verkehrsauskunft Österreich will receive less requests for routing services in the future. The ACA recommends to the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology to define the future orientation of the Verkehrsauskunft Österreich as soon as possible. In doing so, the two projects “Buchungsmaschine Tirol” and “ÖV 2022” should be taken into account.