Nfter the success of the nine-euro ticket, Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) promoted local transport tickets that are valid nationwide. “If the complicated tariff zones disappear and the tickets are valid nationwide, local public transport will be used much more,” Wissing told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “We should therefore finally find ways to end the tariff jungle in Germany.”
The nine-euro ticket introduced at the beginning of June is the “best idea for rail transport for a long time,” said the FDP politician. So far, the ticket has not only been sold to ten million subscribers, but also to 21 million other customers. “It’s a smashing success! And: We have noticeably less traffic on the roads, significantly fewer traffic jams. Apparently, many have switched from cars to buses and trains.” The most important lesson is: “Structural changes are needed.”
The experience with the ticket would now be thoroughly evaluated, said the Minister of Transport. “We will then draw the necessary conclusions from autumn.”
Financing issue
Wissing left open whether the federal government would permanently give the states money for cheap tickets. “I can understand that financing local public transport is a major challenge for the federal states,” the minister told the newspaper. “But it is also clear to everyone that the federal government cannot finance a monthly ticket for 9 euros in the long term. That would be around ten billion euros a year.”
According to a study by the Federal Environment Agency on environmentally harmful subsidies published in October 2018, the tax breaks for diesel alone totaled 8.2 billion euros and company car tax breaks totaled 3.1 billion euros.