The local transport industry is campaigning for the 9-euro ticket to be extended by two more months. “We need a successor solution quickly,” says Oliver Wolff, Managing Director of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. “It would be best to extend the campaign by another two months as a temporary solution. The ticket could continue to be valid in September and October, thus relieving citizens of the high energy prices,” emphasized Wolff.
The 9-euro tickets launched in June are still valid in July and August and enable one-month trips in buses and trains throughout Germany. The debate about a successor plan is already in full swing. Wolff said the proposal for a two-month interim solution would give politicians and the industry time to develop a permanent offer for a nationwide local transport ticket.
Wolff called on the federal and state governments to get together quickly. “People shouldn’t fall into a hole at the end of August.” After all, energy prices are still high.
The VDV had long proposed a nationwide valid 69-euro ticket. Politicians could lower this monthly price to 29 or 39 euros for the needy “for socio-political reasons – for example for the duration of the war,” said Wolff.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing said on Wednesday that a follow-up offer for the 9-euro ticket would not be possible until the end of the year or early 2023. At the beginning of November, data on the ticket should be available that should help with the assessment, said the FDP politician.
In addition to the 69-euro monthly ticket, a 365-euro annual ticket was suggested for a connection model. The main issue here is financing. The federal government is financing the 9-euro ticket with around 2.5 billion euros.
