The struggle for the “Germany ticket” between the federal and state governments was tough, but successful in the end. However, a report by the “Handelsblatt” now suggests that the price of 49 euros could already be obsolete from 2024. The countries insist on a change in the law.
According to information from the “Handelsblatt”, the price for the 49-euro ticket in local and regional transport may be increased as early as next year. As the newspaper reported in a preliminary report, there is an amendment by the federal states to the federal draft law, which is to be discussed in the Bundesrat’s transport committee on Wednesday.
The federal states therefore want to anchor the following passage in the law: “The price is fixed annually in coordination with the federal and state governments.” The federal and state governments had agreed in December to offer a “Germany ticket” for 49 euros this year. In order to guarantee this price at the beginning, the federal and state governments each want to contribute 1.5 billion euros. The new name was deliberately chosen so as not to be permanently tied to the introductory price of 49 euros, according to sources in the federal states. The federal states also demand that the federal government should “also share in half of all financial disadvantages caused by the Germany ticket in the years 2024 and 2025”.
In the coming years, a joint decision will be made on how the ticket can be financed through sales and subsidies. According to the report, the countries write in the amendment that this includes the “possibility or the need to adjust the price”.
Should demand drop and neither the federal government nor the federal states be willing to subsidize more than the agreed 1.5 billion euros, the federal states want to compensate for the losses through price increases, according to the “Handelsblatt”.
