Bus from Oberau to Niederau

How long is the journey and also for Ob to Auffach?

13/14 min min to Auffach, 5 min to N.
From the kellerwirt turn right, walk down the hill, the bus stops are at the High School.

Dave, you're a star, thank you.
Will prob make Niederau our main base before heading back to the Kellerwirt each evening.

Christ knows why they dont extend the route down to Hopfgarten and back around.

munich_johnny wrote:Christ knows why they dont extend the route down to Hopfgarten and back around.

The ski bus is paid for by the Wildschönau Ortztax. Can't quite see the motivation for Hotel owners wishing to ship their customers out of the area for them to spend money in another valley.

The Alpbachtal deal took eight years to get through, but at least it offers benefit reciprocation.

Also, running a service through to Hopfgarten would only really make sense at the start and finish of each day ~ and that is when the existing bus capacity is fully stretched.

I'm sure that there will be an improved mutualisation with the Schiwelt, but valley politics often have to wait a generation to work through. Certainly, I believe the Schiwelters have shown more flexibilty than the Alpbachtalers in the past.

It is going to be interesting to see what kind of pass arrangement is put forward for the Alpbachtal linkup. It can be argued that you can still only ski the same amount as before, albeit with more available territory. I am more concerned as to what they do to the season pass price. :evil:

Can't quite see the motivation for Hotel owners wishing to ship their customers out of the area for them to spend money in another valley.

I disagree totally on that point. Hotel owners don't make much, if any, money from the punters from 9am to 5pm whilst they are skiing.

However I think it would be considerably MORE attractive for punters to book a holiday in Wildschoneau if you knew you had the option of some decent skiing in Skiwelt, a short bus ride away. You KNOW that this is already occuring at a limited level with one or two hotels organising their own buses - and for exactly that reason.

If you think about it, the new link to Alpbach, is the same as a bus to Hopfgarten. It sends your punters away for the day, but they return in the evening for dinner and bed as booked!!! I agree with a bus route it will be 90% of visitors going to Hopfgarten from Wilschoenau, but you will get some crazies coming from H to N as well. But that doesn't matter - if it encourages more beds to be booked in Niederau.

The reason Wildschoneau is gradually dying from visitors (and it is 'cos I spoke to a few significant people down there last weekend, including Maria), is because of their reluctance to change with the times.

Latest News: Even the post office is shutting in Niederau due to lack of demand. Have to go to Oberau now.

munich_johnny wrote:

Can't quite see the motivation for Hotel owners wishing to ship their customers out of the area for them to spend money in another valley.

I disagree totally on that point. Hotel owners don't make much, if any, money from the punters from 9am to 5pm whilst they are skiing.

However I think it would be considerably MORE attractive for punters to book a holiday in Wildschoneau if you knew you had the option of some decent skiing in Skiwelt, a short bus ride away. You KNOW that this is already occuring at a limited level with one or two hotels organising their own buses - and for exactly that reason.

If you think about it, the new link to Alpbach, is the same as a bus to Hopfgarten. It sends your punters away for the day, but they return in the evening for dinner and bed as booked!!! I agree with a bus route it will be 90% of visitors going to Hopfgarten from Wilschoenau, but you will get some crazies coming from H to N as well. But that doesn't matter - if it encourages more beds to be booked in Niederau.

I have to say that all sounds very sensible. You get the impression that these Wildschonauers dont like anyone going off anywhere else; even Auffach was scorned at when I was in N, and god only knows what I was doing driving off to another valley in search of some more interesting skiing....!!!!!
However with a link to the Skiwelt it would surely attract more visitors to base themselves in N or other parts of that little ski area, with people knowing they could do Niederau on day 1 and then scoot off to a host of other places for the rest of their week. As you rightly say, the hotel owners are really only interested in rooms being booked, and people eating in their restaurants.
I also agree that a link may also bring more skiers into the Wildschonau on day trips, people who normally wouldnt venture in that direction.
I don't buy Dave Mac's arguement at all, sorry Dave. People need to think bigger picture maybe.

The Wildschönau was the driver behind the Inner Alpbach linkup. Many years ago, I had conversations with Burgermeister Bletzacher (Alpbach), about this, and the comparitive valley histories. Alpbachtal has been protective of it's history. (Alpbachtal and the Wildschönau were two initial drivers in the development of skiing in Austria)

I did point out that the linkup with Alpbachtal was reciprocal, hence there will be mutual benefit.

I am not disagreeing with a link to the Schiwelt. The opposite is true. I am pointing out the practicalities of this happening. It would be a good thing for the valley. Herbert Thaler, who has not always been the most outward going of people, lead the way with his ad hoc set up. This has been taken up with a few smaller initiatives.

But for a Schiwelt link up to be work effectively, this is not just a question of a bus service. It is much more than that.

John, you may know how much intransigence there was with the recent deal. It went through OK last year, but the years prior to this were fraught with disagreement.

This is Tirol. Companies don't own the mountains, farmers do. For something to happen, just about everyone has to become a signed up member of the party.

In some aspects a SW link up would be easier, as they don't have as much local historic baggage as do adjacent valleys. Also, it is not that long ago that the SW did not exist, other than as a series of separate villages, each with one or two lifts. Last year I was chatting to an ex-Scheffau lift man, who had attended one of two lifts in the village. The link up benefits were always apparent to the individual villages, but not to the farmers owning the land required to be brought into service.

The formation of the Schiwelt was a masterpiece, and more recently, they have capitalised further with the Kirchberg/Kitzbuhel link up.