Transport associations in eastern Saxony want to merge

The way is clear for a new transport association in eastern Saxony. As announced by the Upper Lusatia-Lower Silesia Transport Association (ZVON), it intends to form the new East Saxony Transport Association (ZVVO) together with the Upper Elbe Transport Association (VVO) on January 1, 2026. The VVO association meeting approved the merger in Coswig. The approval of the State Directorate of Saxony is still pending.

Unified tariff as a goal - transitional solutions in the works

The new association is to include the districts of Bautzen, Görlitz, Meißen and Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge as well as the state capital Dresden and the large district town of Görlitz. Decisions on a central fare project are to be made at the first association meeting in January. The aim is to create a uniform ticket with which passengers can travel throughout Eastern Saxony in future. Initially, the existing VVO and ZVON fares will remain in place. According to the associations, transitional solutions are already being worked on to facilitate use across the previous association boundaries.

"The merger of the special-purpose associations in eastern Saxony is a strong signal for customers," said Saxony's Infrastructure Minister Regina Kraushaar (CDU). The upcoming changes would mean work for everyone involved, "but this work is worthwhile because it is in the interests of the customers who will benefit from it".

Dresden's Lord Mayor Dirk Hilbert also welcomed the decision. "The merger will bring Dresden and the East Saxony region even closer together," said the FDP politician. Regional cooperation offers great potential to offer public services in high quality and quantity, even in times of tight budgets.

More than 225 million passengers

More than 25 million passengers are counted annually in the ZVON area, and around 200 million in the VVO.