Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) – The SPD parliamentary group is proposing a monthly ticket for 30 euros as a possible successor to the 9-euro ticket in local transport, with which North Rhine-Westphalia could initially go ahead with a nationwide regulation. “The 9-euro ticket not only made mobility possible for people and it was well received,” said SPD parliamentary group leader Thomas Kutschaty on Thursday in Düsseldorf. Without the 9-euro monthly ticket, the inflation rate would have been around one percentage point higher. “It shows what a big lever there is actually to do something against inflation.” The nationwide 30-euro monthly ticket should then be available on January 1, 2023 according to Kuchaty’s idea.
Kuschaty emphasized that the question of a follow-up offer for the campaign, which expires at the end of August, must be answered quickly. The state that is responsible for local public transport should offer something and not just point the finger at Berlin and wait. “That’s why North Rhine-Westphalia should make its contribution. We propose a ticket for everyone for one euro a day,” he explained. This means that customers pay 30 euros for a monthly ticket according to this model. According to the model, there should also be offers for quarterly and annual subscriptions.
As chairman of the Prime Ministers’ Conference (MPK), NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) should now sit down with the federal level to ensure funding for a successor plan as quickly as possible. The federal government paid 2.5 billion euros to compensate for the revenue deficits of the transport companies, of which around 500 to 700 million euros flowed to NRW. The fact that the states now also have to make a contribution is all the more understandable because local transport is a state and municipal task. “I think the federal government is ready to give more money,” said Kuchaty.
