“Citizens bus around citizens” in rural Brieselang

Introduction

Like many rural areas elsewhere, the local authority of Brieselang (with about 11,000 inhabitants) in the Land (state) of Brandenburg, close to Berlin, suffered from poor public transport. In particular, elderly people living in two outer areas called Bredow and Zeestow, had difficulties getting to the town centre to access shops and public facilities and the train station which connects with Berlin. In 2006 a number of citizens got together and decided to do something about this. It had become evident that neither  of the key public transport agencies in the area – the transport company run by the district authority and the regional public transport network - could solve this unsatisfactory situation. 

The result was a new community association and a new mini-bus to complement the existing public transport offer in the area.