The Ministry of Transport has reacted cautiously to a proposal from the industry to introduce a permanent 69-euro ticket to replace the 9-euro ticket. A spokesman for department head Volker Wissing said on Friday that there was an agreed procedure, according to which the results of a federal and state working group on the future and financing of local public transport should be available in autumn.
The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) had spoken out in favor of a permanent 69-euro ticket as the successor to the nine-euro ticket. The ticket is to be valid nationwide for local public transport.
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Demands for a successor offer also came from the SPD. First, however, sustainable financing must be clarified.
“Based on the premise that the public transport tariffs of the transport associations will continue to be attractive for the majority of passengers, we propose a nationwide public transport system for those who have proven to be a relevant target group in market research – drivers who are willing to pay -Klimaticket for 69 euros per month as a single 2nd class travel entitlement,” said Oliver Wolff, general manager of the VDV, on Thursday evening. The “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” had previously reported on it.
Unlike the nine-euro ticket, the 69-euro ticket would not automatically apply to subscribers, it said. Rather, passengers would have to weigh up which subscription suits them best.
“The industry is able to offer such a climate ticket from September 1st,” explained Wolff. “For this, however, we needed the corresponding order from politicians very quickly.” Wolff put the costs for such an offer at around two billion euros a year. For this year, these costs could still be financed through the rescue package for transport companies negotiated with politicians. “A new regulation is then needed for the new year.”
SPD parliamentary group leader Detlef Müller also called for a successor plan in an interview with the editorial network Germany. “Whether a connection ticket then costs 39, 49 or 69 euros is secondary,” he said. “But it has to be within a framework that has a psychological effect and is worthwhile for people to leave their cars at home.”
Müller suggested developing a proposal for a continuation of the ticket and its financing by the transport ministers’ conference in the fall. “I think it would be good if the federal and state governments could agree on a permanent model in which the states participate in a similar way to the Corona rescue package.” The question of financing is more important than the question of when a new offer will start. “Because it is clear that an inexpensive ticket offer cannot be financed at the expense of the expansion and operation of public transport.”
