Brinek: Unequal fares for senior citizens - Wiener Linien

Unequal fares for senior citizens - Wiener Linien

ORF-Series "Konkret"– Broadcast of August 31 st, 2009

The broadcast “Kontret” on August 31st, 2009 reported on the unequal fares charged by the Wiener Linien (Viennese Public Transport) to senior citizens. It so happens that women currently obtain the benefit of a reduction as of the age of 60 whereas men have to wait until they are 65 years old to benefit from this reduction. Ombudswoman Gertrude Brinek, who had been invited to the studio to give her opinion, considered this difference to be a clear violation of law. On August 1st, 2008, the Equal Treatment Act came into force in Austria, but until this day it has not been duly implemented. An expertise made by the Equal Treatment Commission concluded, in this respect, that the application of a gender differentiating “Senior Citizen Reduction Fare” constitutes a direct discrimination. The reply from the Chief Executive of the Wiener Linien, that the matter would be looked into, for a solution, in a few weeks or months time, as soon as a new expertise had been completed, was considered to be unacceptable by Ombudswoman Gertrude Brinek. She therefore requested the immediate implementation of the Equal Treatment Act and the application of a fair pricing policy to all senior citizens, regardless of their gender, as it is to be assumed, that all of them see their income reduced upon retirement. Her recommendation was the following: every passenger should benefit from a reduction upon presentation of their pension notice – regardless of age and gender.