Everyone in the traffic light wants a follow-up regulation for the nine-euro ticket. It is still unclear how expensive it will ultimately be for users and how much money the federal government and how much the states will have to contribute. Activists criticize the prices mentioned even before a decision is made.
The federal government has spoken out in favor of a successor regulation for the nine-euro ticket, but the struggle over the design and financing of the offer continues. The Greens demanded a monthly ticket for 49 euros. The SPD proposed reduced prices for recipients of social assistance. The transport associations, for their part, demanded more money in order to maintain or expand their timetables.
The traffic light coalition presented a new relief package with a volume of 65 billion euros on Sunday, which, among other things, provides for a successor to the nine-euro ticket. The federal government wants to contribute 1.5 billion euros a year to the ticket – if the federal states contribute to the financing. The nationwide ticket should then cost between 49 and 69 euros.
A spokeswoman for the FDP-led Ministry of Transport said the price ultimately depended on “what the federal states are willing to add financial resources to.” In any case, however, a ticket valid throughout Germany at a uniform price is sought.
Green party leader Britta Haßelmann was confident that a ticket for 49 euros could be realized. That would be a “very important signal in the field of mobility”. Even if the price is well above the nine-euro ticket, she expects “great demand” at 49 euros.
The activist network Campact demanded an even cheaper ticket. “Only a 29-euro ticket brings relevant relief for people and allows them to switch from cars to buses and trains for the sake of the climate,” said Campact boss Christoph Bautz. “A monthly 69-euro ticket, on the other hand, would be double what is provided for in the Hartz IV standard rate for mobility.”
SPD leader Saskia Esken said that the price “can be mitigated again by the benefits of the welfare state”. The federal and state governments would then have to agree on this.
In principle, the transport associations welcomed the German government’s agreement on a follow-up regulation for the nine-euro ticket, but called for additional funding. With a uniform nationwide ticket, “local public transport in Germany will become much more attractive and its use much easier for many,” explained Frank Zerban, Managing Director of the Federal Association of Local Rail Transport. But in order to implement it, “an agreement on additional regionalization funds for 2022 and 2023 by October of this year at the latest” is necessary.
“Otherwise, services will have to be canceled extensively in the coming year, since they can no longer be financed with the available funds,” warned the association chairman. Due to rising energy, material and personnel costs, local rail passenger transport is already underfinanced.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing spoke out in favor of investing in the railway infrastructure in addition to a new ticket offer. “We need both and we do both,” Wissing told RTL/ntv. He did not initially give any details.
