Trains near the main train station in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on August 11, 2021 (AFP/Archives/Armando BABANI)
Germany will set up, to support purchasing power, a monthly subscription at 49 euros on all regional transport, replacing the ephemeral ticket at 9 euros which had been a resounding success this summer.
“We have agreed on a ticket at 49 euros (…) for the whole country”, announced Thursday at a press conference the Minister of Transport Volker Wissing, after a meeting with his regional counterparts.
This device will replace the monthly ticket at 9 euros set up between June and August to fight against inflation and which has been immensely successful with 52 million subscriptions sold in a country of 86 million inhabitants.
The funding formula must still be agreed between Berlin and the regions, said the liberal minister, indicating that the state could put “1.5 billion euros on the table”.
“Our goal is (to have the ticket) available from January 1,” Mr Wissing said.
This monthly ticket will be able, like its predecessor, to open access to all public transport in Germany, with the exception of high-speed trains.
The government has been working since the start of the school year on a new device in order to continue to help the population, while inflation reached 10% in September.
Extending the subscription to 9 euros would have been too expensive for communities and transport operators.
The success of the device had also underlined the need for investment for the German rail network, which suffered numerous delays and damage due to this overload of passengers.
Pending the launch of the new ticket, the municipality of Berlin has been offering its own formula since the beginning of October: a monthly subscription for 29 euros valid on all buses, trams and trains in the city.
© 2022 AFP
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