Schwerin (dpa/mv) – The town and community day of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania evaluates the federal-state compromise on the 49-euro ticket as an intermediate step towards strengthening local public transport. “The reduced ticket price is not enough. We need good and reliable transport connections. And not just in urban areas, but also in rural areas,” warned the association’s managing director Andreas Wellmann on Thursday in Schwerin.
The regionalization funds provided by the federal government would have to be used for the targeted expansion of the bus and rail network. The lack of financial resources over the years has led to a thinning out of the supply in many places and as a result to people turning to their own car. “We can only win people over to public transport if buses and trains are easily accessible and run regularly. Safety and reliability are the keys to success,” said Wellmann. Overcrowded regional trains in the three months of the 9-euro ticket or a reduced train timetable due to a lack of staff were rather counterproductive.
After a long struggle, the federal and state governments finally agreed on a successor solution for the 9-euro ticket on Wednesday. The federal states had made permanently higher subsidies for their local public transport, the so-called regionalization funds, a condition. The additional funds from Berlin should now be available. This means that the planned “Germany ticket” can come for 49 euros. Whether it works as early as January 1 is an open question. Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) welcomed the agreement, since the cheaper monthly ticket also relieves commuters in particular.
