Symbolbild © imago/Martin Wagner
There is now bad news for customers, because the cheap Germany ticket is probably about to end. There just doesn’t seem to be enough money to finance the ticket.
Now it seems to be finally sealed: the cheap Germany ticket is probably about to end. The countries simply don’t have the money to maintain the cheap ticket. It is currently unclear who will provide the financing.
Deutschlandticket is very popular
Ten million people in Germany currently use the Deutschlandticket. Around a million of them otherwise use cars or bicycles. That is why the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) points out that the ticket has become established since its introduction in May 2023. This shows that it can make a significant contribution to climate protection. If the 49 euro ticket disappears, the potential it has to protect the environment will be wasted. We need to encourage even more customers to leave their cars behind and use local transport instead.
The financing is unclear
The problem, however, is money. The Baden-Württemberg Transport Minister Winfried Hermann from the Green Party is very concerned about the future of the Deutschlandticket. The states only agreed to the 49 euro ticket because the federal government covers half of the costs. He now accuses the government of “changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game.” This creates a large financing gap in the budgets of the individual countries.
By this the Minister of Transport means the cut in funds for regional transport announced by the Federal Ministry of Finance. That’s 350 million euros. If the funds are simply cut, money will be due that is not there at all. Hermann suspects that the 350 million euros of federal funds will remain in 2023 and will be transferred to 2024. He calls this brash and a great danger to the Germany ticket.
It is also important for customers to have secure and long-term financing prospects for the 49 euro ticket. This is the only way to encourage people to switch to local transport. It is not yet clear who will bear the possible additional costs for the ticket in 2024. The previous price of 49 euros will probably be increased.
2023-12-27 20:09:22
#money #cheap #Germany #ticket
