Ministry of Transport (Austria)

Ministry of Transport

Infrastrukturministerium
Ministry overview
Formed	1896
Jurisdiction	Austria
Headquarters	Stubenring 1 Vienna 48°12′38″N 16°23′9″E / 48.21056°N 16.38583°E / 48.21056; 16.38583
Minister responsible	Norbert Hofer
Website	bmnt.gv.at

In Austrian politics, the Ministry of Transport (German: Verkehrsministerium) in the ministry in charge of railways, transport policy, and the postal system.

The current Minister of Transport is Norbert Hofer.^[1][2]

First established in 1896, its exact name and portfolio have undergone changes numerous times throughout the years. As of 2018, the ministry is officially called the Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Innovation und Technologie or BMVIT) and is tasked, in addition to its core regulatory and infrastructure responsibilities, with the promotion of scientific research and technological progress. The ministry regulates motor vehicles, railways, waterways, aviation safety, air traffic control, air weather services, public transport, the postal system, and the telecommunications sector. It maintains the autobahns and other national highways. The Ministry also owns and supervises the via donau, a corporation charged with the maintenance of the Danube as a commercial shipping route and wildlife reserve.^[3]

History

The Ministry was first established as the Cisleithanian Ministry of Railways in 1896; previously, railways had been the responsibility of the Ministry of Commerce (Handelsministerium). In 1923, the Ministry of Railways was merged back into the Ministry of Commerce.

In its current form and under its modern common name, the Ministry of Transport appeared in 1945. Its areas of responsibility were railways, the postal system, shipping, and public transport. In 1950, it gained responsibility for aviation affairs. In 1973, it was put in charge of a number of additional areas, including but not limited to motor vehicles, traffic police matters, and mineral oil pipelines. On and off, the Ministry also supervised Austria's nationalized heavy industry, exercising direct control over some of the country's largest employers and a sizable percentage of the nation's GDP. From 1950 to 1973 it also controlled the electricity sector.

The Ministry was merged with the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 1996. When it was reestablished yet again in 2000, it had acquired responsibility for national road construction and maintenance.

Responsibilities

As of January 2018, the Ministry is charged with regulating, supervising, or managing, respectively:^[4]

• traffic policy;
• transportation by railway, navigation and aviation;
• motor vehicle traffic and matters of traffic police; accident research;
• national roads;
• companies responsible for construction and maintenance of national roads by national law;
• hydraulic engineering waterways regarding the navigable rivers Danube and March as well as Thaya river along the international border between Bernhardsthal until ending in the March river and of other waterways, as well as of water supply and sewerage systems, to the extent they are not within the powers of some other ministry; administration of the Marchfeld Canal;
• commercial transportation of passengers and goods including commercial transportation of goods in pipelines with the exception of the management of water supply systems;
• transportation of persons and goods with company-owned vehicles;
• railways, including the construction and administration of buildings and state-owned real estate assigned to railway use; exercise of shareholders’ rights due to stakes the government owns in other railway companies;
• postal and telecommunications services;
• the Council of Research and Technological Development (Rat für Forschung und Technologieentwicklung);
• scientific and technological research, except for those areas within the purview of the Ministry of Digital and Economic Affairs;
• industrial property rights, in particular patents and utility model protection, patent law attorneys and their professional representation; protection of designs, brand names and other product designations;
• outer space affairs.

Structure

As of May 2018, the ministry consists of the Minister and his personal staff (Kabinett), the office of the general secretary, and four departments (Sektionen):^[5]

1. Presidium and international affairs (Präsidium und internationale Angelegenheiten)
2. Infrastructure planning and financing; coordination (Infrastrukturplanung und -finanzierung, Koordination)
3. Innovation and telecommunications (Innovation und Telekommunikation)
4. Transport (Verkehr)

The Minister and his staff are political appointees; the general secretary and the section heads are career civil servants.

Ministers

References

External links

• Official web site (in German)
• English version