The mobility turnaround concerns everyone. Additional buses and trains must be financed. The DGB in Baden-Württemberg is critical of further burdens for the majority of citizens.
Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – The German trade union federation has expressed skepticism about a local transport tax for the expansion of buses and trains. The DGB Vice President of Baden-Württemberg, Maren Diebel-Ebers, said in Stuttgart: “We are critical of a local transport tax because there is no social differentiation. Whether rich or poor, everyone would be asked to pay immediately, but of course not charged the same social graduation would be a must.” In a situation in which inflation and, above all, energy prices are rising exorbitantly, it shouldn’t be added as an additional burden. “And it will continue to be so for a long time.”
Diebel-Ebers said the better way to finance the mobility pass would be an employer levy for the expansion of local transport. This should be based on the total wages of the employees. “The Ministry of Transport’s goal of doubling the offer by 2030 is only possible with twice as many employees.” According to the information, around 80,000 people work in all areas of local public transport in the southwest. In order to achieve the doubling, 100,000 to 120,000 additional employees would have to be recruited. In this context, Diebel-Ebers pointed out that the men and women who were retiring had to be replaced.
The DGB vice-president of Baden-Württemberg demanded more money from the federal and state governments to expand local transport. The plans of the State Ministry of Transport are ambitious. The debt brake is the biggest obstacle.
The project of Transport Minister Winfried Hermann (Greens) is the “mobility guarantee” in local transport: By 2030, all places in the south-west should be accessible by bus and train from 5 a.m. to midnight – a major challenge in rural areas.
