Rundschau derailed in streetcar dispute?
According to Schweiz am Sonntag, the SRF information magazine Rundschau allowed itself to be instrumentalized in reporting on the streetcar procurement of VBZ.
The Rundschau reported this week on the Zurich streetcar procurement: it was a scandal, the provider Bombardier had been blatantly favored in the evaluation of the bids.
Fersehmagazin invited the German engineer Martin Weis as an expert. Right at the beginning of the article, Weis demanded that the procedure be restarted. He had come to this conclusion after reading a confidential interim report by the Winterthur-based expert office Molinari. This report was commissioned by the Zurich Transport Association (ZVV) because it distrusts the VBZ with regard to the evaluation of the offers.
Expert linked to competition
The presentation in the Rundschau lacks credibility to be independent, so now the reproach of Schweiz am Sonntag. For one thing, Weis has had business ties with Molinari since at least February 2014 - something the Rundschau should have taken into account. Editorial director Mario Poletti, on the other hand, explained in response to a question from Schweiz am Sonntag that, according to his information, Weis was not currently working with Molinari and had only learned through Rundschau that the interim report existed at all.
According to Schweiz am Sonntag, Weis is also well acquainted with Stadler Rail, which also bid. As managing director of Potsdamer Verkehrsbetriebe, he was responsible for the acquisition of Stadler streetcars in 2009. In the interview with Schweiz am Sonntag, Stadler Rail CEO Peter Spuhler expressed congruent views with Weis, the newspaper emphasizes.
Recordings prove nothing
The "evidence" filmed in the Rundschau would not convincingly demonstrate that there was indeed a preference for Bombardier, the article continues. The pictures would simply not prove anything, not even the opposite.
Relativities ignored
Moreover, the Rundschau and its expert Weis would completely exclude the remarks repeatedly made by Molinari that the interim report does not allow for a "conclusive assessment" due to "limited access to the documents". But relativizations would find little place when the waves are running high and the exclusive is also explosive, the article concludes. (Schweiz am Sonntag/sis)
