Rail: Compensation for delays with an annual pass
from Jürgen Vogl
If the companies do not achieve the punctuality level, they are obliged to pay compensation. The minimum punctuality level of 95 percent does not apply to companies that only operate long-distance services. In these cases, the punctuality level is set by the companies themselves and checked by Schienen-Control to ensure that it is appropriate and reasonable. In Austria, this currently only applies to WESTbahn, which has currently set a punctuality rate of 90.01 percent.
Most transport associations only forward the necessary data of their customers in order to participate in the compensation procedure to the paying railroad company after they have been requested to do so. Only the VOR now transmits the data for exercising passenger rights directly to ÖBB-Personenverkehr (ÖBB-PV). As a rule, the railroad companies receive the punctuality values from the infrastructure operators. ÖBB-PV receives the data from ÖBB-Infrastruktur. When calculating the delay, transport exclusively in the area of urban transport or transport association core zones is not taken into account, nor are delays in transport on long-distance trains or with regional motor vehicle lines, i.e. buses. Trains that are canceled at short notice must be included in the punctuality calculation unless a rail replacement service has been set up or an alternative timetable has been published.
The amount of compensation is at least ten percent of the pro rata price of the respective month in which the punctuality level was undercut (applies only to the rail portion) and is calculated at the end of the term of an annual ticket. However, this is done automatically so that the claim is transferred to the traveler's account.