The 49-euro ticket is intended to relieve citizens of inflation. However, the start date keeps getting pushed back. While the Union is demanding more clarity from the traffic lights, the Pro Bahn passenger association is already bringing April 1 into play.
In the ongoing discussion about the 49-euro ticket, the Union quickly demands clarity from the federal and state governments about the start date and further financing. Group deputy Ulrich Lange told the “Rheinische Post”: “I very much hope that the special transport ministers’ conference on November 29 and the meetings of the relevant working groups will contribute to constructive solutions.”
There is currently a discrepancy “between dreams and reality,” added the CSU politician. On the one hand, the FDP-led Federal Ministry of Transport would like the 49-euro ticket to be introduced on January 1, 2023, “on the other hand, even the responsible FDP minister from Saxony-Anhalt says March 1, 2023 is the earliest entry date,” Lange explained. The traffic light government also wants to contribute as little financial resources as possible to the 49-euro ticket, but it is clear to everyone “that the 49-euro ticket is underfunded, as is currently being discussed,” the traffic expert emphasized to the newspaper. “We finally need clarity instead of unreliability from the traffic light government.”
The Pro Bahn passenger association does not expect the 49-euro ticket to be introduced in Germany until April next year. The honorary chairman of the association, Karl-Peter Naumann, told the newspaper that many questions about the Germany ticket were unresolved. “More money has to be injected. That’s absolutely clear,” says Naumann. “So I think it’s safer to start on April 1st. March 1st is rather unlikely.”
Naumann added that the ticket will not fail, despite the demands of transport associations and municipalities for further financial commitments. “It will be cramped,” the “Rheinische Post” quoted him as saying. However, the introduction must not lead to “transport being canceled elsewhere. Otherwise there will very quickly be a storm of protests from those affected,” warned Naumann. Future price increases would also have to be clarified. “You can sometimes go from 49 euros to 59 euros,” Naumann continues.
The transport ministers of the federal states will meet next week for a special meeting, which is said to also deal with the implementation of the 49-euro ticket. According to the report, the liberal Federal Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing, will also take part. The federal and state governments had agreed on an “as soon as possible” introduction, and the transport associations last mentioned March 1st as conceivable.
