On December 5, the system was put into operation by Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel in the presence of representatives from the council and administration, the director of the Zweckverband Großraum Braunschweig (ZGB), Hennig Brandes, and the managing director of Kraftverkehrsgesellschaft mbH Braunschweig (KVG), Axel Gierga.
Mayor Frank Klingebiel was delighted with the financial support from the state of Lower Saxony. As a result, the city's investment costs for the modernization of the facility on both sides of Konrad-Adenauer-Straße amount to around 75 percent of the 1.5 million euros. Instead of the previous parking lanes, nine bus stops were created on four bus platforms, which were also made accessible for the disabled with the so-called Kassler kerb.
The technical data: Around 3300 square meters of concrete block paving with guiding strips for the visually impaired were laid. Four new waiting shelters and a modern passenger information system in the form of real-time information on bus departure times will offer more service for ÖPNV customers in future. Two-metre-wide cycle paths and footpaths have also been created, as well as a barrier-free ramp to the platform with intermediate platforms and railings.
As Frank Klingebiel emphasized again at the handover, the construction project was a "very important contribution to improving local public transport not only for Lebenstedt, but for the entire city". Now the Zweckverband Großraum Braunschweig (ZGB) and Deutsche Bahn are also required to significantly upgrade the Lebenstedt stop. The new bus station is an "urban development gain" that has further changed the face of the city in a positive way alongside the private investments in the pedestrian zone.
In the view of ZGB Association Director Hennig Brandes, the new location of the ZOB at the City-Tor enhances the area between the city center and the train station for ÖPNV users. The distances between the ZOB and the train station will be significantly shorter in future. In future, the ZGB will focus even more intensively on upgrading the area around the station. Together with the towns and municipalities in the association's area, the association wants to make efforts to improve the station environment. Brandes is convinced that "the image of a city is also conveyed via the station surroundings".
For Axel Gierga, KVG Managing Director and Managing Director of Verbundgesellschaft Region Braunschweig mbH (VRB), the new ZOB is a success. "Bus travel in Salzgitter is becoming even more attractive with the new hub. For KVG passengers, this means convenient transfers, a better overview, accessibility and future-oriented passenger information. KVG can also improve its operational processes."
According to Gierga, once the new ZOB has been completed, there will be a noticeable improvement for passengers, particularly in terms of bus-bus connections, but also in terms of bus-train services. From the timetable change on December 14, 2014, almost all KVG bus routes in the inner city area of Lebenstedt will call at the redesigned and significantly enlarged bus stop facility. During the first few days, KVG will have service staff on site to help bus customers familiarize themselves with the new bus stop situation and find "their bus". Information with a bus stop location map will make it much easier to find your way around.
The KVG will also take into account the new Deutsche Bahn timetable between Braunschweig and Lebenstedt with its changed arrival and departure times for transfer passengers in its new departure times for bus routes and the Anruf-Sammel-Taxi (AST) service from December 14. The overall networking of the bus routes with each other and the connections to the trains at the other station in Salzgitter-Bad also had to be taken into account for route 612/613.
Two stops in Albert-Schweitzer-Straße will no longer be served on both sides from the timetable change. Lines 604, 606, 607, 608, 609, 630 and 640, which currently stop there, will move completely to the redesigned Lebenstedt station stop, where these KVG lines will have their new terminus. Short distances when changing to all the other lines will make traveling on KVG buses even more attractive. The "Rathaus" stop in Albert-Schweitzer-Straße (near the post office) in the direction of the train station will remain the same.
All new KVG timetables are now available to download from the company website www.kvg-braunschweig.de. In addition, the new bus timetables and the new Salzgitter route network map with a map of the new station stop ("where does which line now depart?") are available as handy flyers from the KVG mobility center directly at the new stop, on the corner of Konrad-Adenauer-Str. and Albert-Schweitzer-Str.
The preparatory work for the new ZOB began on June 16. First the expansion of the southern carriageway with ancillary facilities and the central reservation with junctions to the station and the P + R square began. During this phase, traffic was routed on the north side. At the same time, work was carried out on the footpath to the station as well as alterations to the station forecourt and the P+R square. This was followed in September by the expansion of the northern carriageway and ancillary facilities with the Albert-Schweitzer-Straße and Berliner Straße junctions. Apart from a few remaining works, the construction project was completed on time after a construction period of just under six months.