<p>Onderka: The cable car from Pisárky to the campus is to be an alternative to public transport.</p>

Brno - The cable car from the Pisárky stop to the university campus in Bohunice is expected to be an alternative to the overloaded public transport in this area of Brno, according to Mayor Roman Onderka (ČSSD). The mayor announced this today at a press conference at the transport company, just under two weeks before the municipal elections, without any analysis of demand or the feasibility of this type of transportation existing. He estimates the construction costs at 200 million crowns, and he supposedly aims for the cable car to be operational by the end of 2018.
      Deputy Mayor for Transport Robert Kotzian (ODS) considers the idea of building a cable car to be good, but he believes a serious analysis needs to be done first to answer questions about the cable car's utility. "The idea is not new; it has been discussed for about four years. However, it has not yet been officially addressed anywhere. In my opinion, its potential is rather tourist-oriented and it could serve to serve the exhibition area. The cable car cannot be solely assigned the role of one of the public transport options," Kotzian told ČTK.
      According to him, serious consideration of the cable car's construction is only possible when the future of the exhibition area is clear. Two-thirds of the shares are still owned by Messe Düsseldorf, which is waiting for further negotiations about the sale until after the elections. "However, visionary projects need to be prepared," Kotzian believes.
      For the cable car to serve as a regular means of public transport, it should have a competitive advantage according to Kotzian. Already around 2020, the operation of trams to the campus is expected, with a travel time from the main train station of 15 minutes. Onderka claims that the hourly capacity of the cable car in one direction would be 500 passengers, consisting of cabins for eight people, and the journey from Pisárky to the campus would take five minutes. Currently, the transport company brings 30,000 people to the campus area daily. "I think many would prefer to transfer to the cable car at Pisárky from the overcrowded trolleybus from Mendlovo náměstí," Onderka stated.
      According to him, the transport company should find 200 million crowns for the construction, but the city could also help. According to the company's director, Miloš Havránek, however, the question is whether it is still possible to find money in the company's budget, which has been receiving the same amount of 1.7 billion crowns from the city since 2011, and the budget is becoming increasingly tight. He is also cautious about the 2018 deadline due to the difficulties with similar projects.
      Just like now, Onderka came up with the idea of a tourist cable car to Špilberk four years ago before the elections. He claims he has not abandoned the idea, but it is necessary to wait until the five-year period since the castle repairs expires. The city received a grant from the EU for those repairs, and if it were to change the original project and build the cable car, it would have to return the funds.