The federal and state governments have struggled for a long time to finance the Deutschlandticket. Now the transport ministers are increasing the pressure on the federal government. If the federal government does not pay out the promised 350 million euros, the Germany ticket can no longer cost 49 euros. This emerges from a resolution paper from the Conference of Transport Ministers in Münster.
The Deutschlandticket for 49 euros per month can be used nationwide on local and regional transport since May 1, 2023. A good eleven million tickets were recently sold every month. The money from the federal and state governments is needed to compensate for loss of income for transport companies due to cheaper tickets compared to previous offers.
According to the Regionalization Act, the federal government will pay 1.5 billion euros a year until 2025 – as will the states as a whole. Over the past few months there has been a lot of hard debate over how to distribute the costs. The transport ministers of the federal states recently met for consultations in Münster. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) was represented by state secretaries.
And after the meeting it is clear: the financing of the Germany ticket is probably in jeopardy. Millions of customers with the reduced subscription would suffer.
Germany ticket price could rise “significantly”.
According to an agreement reached by the transport ministers in January, the price should actually remain stable at 49 euros per month for 2024. But that no longer seems to be entirely certain.
Bavaria’s Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) said before the Transport Ministers’ Conference that the basis for the decision at the time was a promise from Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) that remaining funds from the previous year could be transferred to this year. If Scholz doesn’t keep his word, the price of 49 euros cannot be maintained.
Overall, there is a funding gap of 350 million euros for the Deutschland Ticket. The countries urgently need the money. But nothing has happened here since November, says Bernreiter.
Costs apparently even exceed three billion euros
At the beginning of the year, the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) estimated the actual costs of the Deutschland Ticket at 4.1 billion euros. The states can apparently cover part of this through additional financing. Customers have to compensate for the deficit through a price increase.
The proposal at the time: The Germany ticket should increase to 54 euros in May 2024 and the price should then be adjusted annually to meet needs.
Will the price even rise to 69 euros?
The VDV even suggested a price of 69 euros for the Germany ticket in its annual report for 2023. This was intended to set “an entrepreneurial, appropriate anchor point,” emphasized the then managing director of the VDV, Oliver Wolff. This number is based on the needs of each transport company and the average number of potential customers.
“The industry needs a secure and reliable perspective for the urgently needed expansion and modernization of infrastructure and vehicles as well as financial resources for the nationwide expansion of services,” adds Alexander Möller, the managing director responsible for local public transport at the VDV.
Germany ticket only for employees?
The Deutschlandticket is not just an incentive to switch to public transport, said North Rhine-Westphalia Transport Minister Oliver Krischer (Greens) as chairman of the Transport Ministers’ Conference.
“It also makes a contribution to climate protection and reduces the burden on commuters by billions. This also has a dampening effect on inflation. I am therefore very satisfied with the first year. But there is still homework to be done: permanent financing remains an issue,” said Krischer.
The idea of the NRW Transport Minister? To establish the ticket more strongly as a job ticket. The costs should be borne proportionately by the employers. However, this would disadvantage pensioners, recipients of citizens’ benefit and the self-employed. This is what legal experts explained when asked by FOCUS online: A greater expansion of the Germany ticket as a job ticket would mean that many people might no longer be able to use it at all.