The Vienna Regional Court for Civil Matters (LGfZRS) dismissed the lawsuit of a student born in the federal capital with a main residence in Lower Austria, who had claimed ethnic discrimination for the higher price of the ticket. Her claim for damages is off the table.

The backstory: With the summer semester 2023, the Wiener Linien equalised the price for the semester ticket for all students regardless of their place of residence. Before that, the ticket for students with a main residence in Vienna cost 75 euros, without a main residence in the federal capital it was 150 euros. Against this, two litigation financing platforms initiated numerous proceedings. They claimed that the tariff design was ethnically discriminatory and demanded the refund of the difference as well as 300 euros in damages per ticket.

First Verdict from September 2022

In a first verdict from September 2022, three students also got their way from the Regional Court for Civil Matters, the second instance confirmed the verdict. A revision was no longer possible. However, the Wiener Linien already saw the legal assessment of this issue as not clear at that time and announced a thorough legal review of the further procedure.

"The result of this review was that we had to involve the ECJ in these proceedings," explained Wiener Linien spokesman Elias Natmessnig on Friday in a conversation with the APA. Apparently with success: The ECJ stated in a preliminary ruling procedure that it could not see why a person from a federal state other than Vienna should be ethnically discriminated against. The main residence alone cannot establish an ethnicity. The Regional Court for Civil Matters (LGfZRS) then decided that the student is not entitled to the damages of 300 euros per ticket, against which there are no longer any legal remedies.

Question of Ticket Difference Still Open

The question of the ticket difference is still open, in which the Regional Court for Civil Matters referred the proceedings back to the First Instance - the District Court Inner City - according to the Wiener Linien. This should deal with other legal bases again in depth with the case. The Wiener Linien also look forward to the decisions with optimism: There have already been several judgments in favour of the transport provider.

Ultimately, a considerable amount of money also depends on the question. The litigation financiers had already spoken in September of 3,000 students who had also initiated proceedings against the Wiener Linien. With a difference of 75 euros and 300 euros in damages per ticket, this involves a dispute sum in the millions.

(APA/Red)

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