The construction site whisperer

For passengers and especially neighbours, however, they are first and foremost loud, dusty and annoying. The most important thing here is good information and communication. This is why Wiener Linien has so-called neighbourhood advisors. They are the point of contact for all questions relating to the major construction sites in Vienna. Fabian Homberg is one of them. The experience he gained during his bachelor's degree in Information, Media & Communication at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland is still very useful to him. He tells us:

He describes the wide-ranging knowledge gained during his studies as a door opener to the profession. "You get to know so many areas during your studies that you can have a say in almost everything."

After completing his bachelor's degree, he started his career in customer service at ORF, then completed an internship in the editorial department at ORF III and tried his hand at self-employment.

Out of interest, he took a completely different path after these experiences and trained as a tram driver. After a year and a half "on the line", he switched to the passenger information department. From there, Fabian moved on to the communications department at Wiener Linien. After the U2xU5 public transport extension, the successful concept of direct communication with neighbours was also used for Wiener Linien's track construction sites. Fabian was able to get involved right from the start as a neighbourhood manager.

The job is so much more than just being a "complaints box", he explains. "If I find out that there's going to be a big building site next year, I start looking at how I can inform people on site." Advertorials in the district newspaper, direct mailings and house notices are organised. The telephone number on the information is Fabian's. It is important to Wiener Linien that neighbours can get in touch as unbureaucratically as possible. "It's often just a matter of small things that we can change to save residents trouble - such as repositioning a spotlight so that it doesn't shine into the bedroom."

Fabian also finds the work in the internal task force for construction site communication exciting. He can let off steam creatively here. Otherwise, he tries to be on site at "his" construction site as often as possible to find out what is happening there. However, he may also spend a whole day in the office - everyday office life also exists for neighbourhood managers.

Photos: © Bubu Dujmic