“A fraction of the cost”
Lindner gives the green light for the 9-euro ticket successor
8/31/2022, 2:47 p.m
After three months, the 9-euro ticket ends today. A possible sequel has so far failed due to the costs. Now the Federal Minister of Finance sees a way to finance a successor to the special ticket “for a fraction”.
Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner can now imagine a successor to the 9-euro ticket that expires in September. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing has “achieved something groundbreaking, namely clearing the tariff jungle in Germany for three months,” said the FDP leader after the government meeting at Meseberg Castle. This has made local public transport more attractive for everyone.
According to Lindner, it would cost 14 billion euros a year to implement the 9-euro ticket nationwide. However, Wissing convinced him that he could implement a much cheaper successor “if the federal states agree,” said the finance minister. “You can’t say no to achieve such an innovation in public transport with a fraction.”
Lindner and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz left it open how much the ticket should cost for consumers. A possible successor to the 9-euro ticket has so far failed due to the question of financing – and thus to the Federal Minister of Finance. Lindner had argued that the special ticket did not bear its own costs and that not all taxpayers benefited equally from it. The FDP leader was widely criticized for saying that such a “free mentality” did not convince him. Now the change of course: Lindner wrote in the morning on twitter, a price can be fixed if the question of financing has been clarified. He also posted a selfie with his party friend Wissing.
Several suggestions
Together with the fuel discount, the 9-euro ticket was part of the traffic light coalition’s second relief package to cushion rising energy prices as a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Both measures were introduced on June 1st and expire on Wednesday. According to the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), the ticket was sold a total of 52 million times within the three months.
There has been a debate about extending the ticket for weeks. The parliamentary group of the Greens recently presented two possible successors for the ticket: a 29-euro ticket, which would be valid in the state association, and a nationwide 49-euro ticket. The SPD parliamentary group also proposed a nationwide 49-euro ticket, the funding of which would be divided equally between the federal and state governments. On Tuesday, FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai said in the “early start” on ntv that he thought it was realistic that a successor to the special ticket would be discussed. From his point of view, two criteria would have to be right for this: the federal states would have to make a commitment to finance it and the network structures of the transport companies should become more efficient and transparent.