The VRS organisation
Politics, management and operations together form the network.
The cities and districts that are members of the VRS send their representatives to the Association Assembly of the Zweckverband VRS (ZV VRS) as a political body. The members of the association assemblies are organised into political groups, the numerical composition of which is determined by the results of the local elections. Responsibility for the tasks of the special-purpose association lies with the chairman of the association. The special-purpose association itself does not have any staff, but is the 100 per cent owner of VRS GmbH, which implements its tasks.
The organs of the special-purpose association are the association assembly and the association chairman:
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The members of the Association Assembly are elected by the representative bodies of the Association members for their term of office from among themselves or from among their employees. The Association Assembly is convened in writing by its chairperson as required, but at least twice a year. The dates and agendas of the meetings as well as the public meeting documents are made available in the electronic meeting service of the ZV VRS.
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The association assembly elects the association chairman from among the main administrative officials or, with the consent of their superior, from among the general representatives or senior employees of the association members for a term of six years, but for no longer than the duration of his office. The association chairman manages the day-to-day business of the special-purpose association in accordance with the law, the association's articles of association and the resolutions of the association meeting. He represents the special-purpose association in and out of court. On 26 February 2021, the District Administrator of the Rhein-Sieg district, Sebastian Schuster, was elected head of the ZV VRS association.
Duty of disclosure and publication pursuant to Section 16 of the German Anti-Corruption Act (KorruptionsbG)
Pursuant to Section 16 sentence 3 of the Corruption Prevention Act, the Association Chairman is obliged to provide information on the profession exercised and consultancy contracts, membership of supervisory boards and other supervisory bodies within the meaning of Section 125 para. 1 sentence 5 of the German Stock Corporation Act, membership of bodies of independent areas of responsibility under public or private law of the authorities and institutions listed in Section 1 para. 1 and para. 2 of the State Organisation Act, membership of bodies of other companies under private law and functions in associations or comparable bodies.The corresponding overview of the activities of the Chairman of the Association, District Administrator Sebastian Schuster, is available on the Internet at Rhein-Sieg-Kreis .
VRS GmbH takes over the management tasks in the VRS:
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All tasks and competences of the association are organisationally bundled in VRS GmbH. VRS GmbH is legally independent and works with its own staff and resources to fulfil a wide range of tasks relating to local public transport in the region. The core tasks of VRS GmbH are
- Network tariff: Adaptation and further development of the network tariff, taking into account sub-market and target group-related requirements (example: schoolchildren's ticket)
- Sales: adaptation and further development of a sales system tailored to the various customer needs (example: customer-orientated electronic ticket)
- Marketing/market research: Carrying out target group and submarket-related market research and implementing suitable marketing strategies throughout the network
- Communication: Network-wide advertising, sales promotion and standardised passenger information throughout the network
- Information technology: Creation of the network timetable and further development of electronic timetable and fare information, taking into account current media (example: VRS app)
- Revenue sharing: Distribution of the ticket revenue generated among all transport companies using the network tariff depending on passenger volume
- Mobility management: Supporting local authorities and transport companies in the development, promotion and marketing of cross-modal transport services
- Press and public relations: Preparation and dispatch of press releases and organisation of press conferences, interviews and other media appearances on current events and developments. Creation of newsletters and publications. Strategic and political communication.
VRS GmbH ensures the mobility of citizens through the integrated organisation of public transport and the networking and integration of transport systems and modes of transport. VRS GmbH is closely linked to the political level via the special-purpose association assembly and to the operational level of the transport companies via an advisory board.
The transport companies in the VRS are responsible for the operation of the bus and train lines:
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The municipal transport companies and the railway companies form the operational level on the basis of cooperation and revenue sharing agreements in the VRS.
The transport companies are involved via the VRS advisory board and bring all company-relevant topics to the special-purpose association meeting via this body. The entrepreneurial competence of the transport companies is thus one of the pillars of decision-making within the transport association.
The VRS brings together the municipal transport companies of the local authorities, all other transport companies with their own concession and all railway companies with their own revenue responsibility. Topic-related work takes place together with VRS GmbH in various working groups.