Neighboring countries in discussion
Will the Deutschlandticket soon be valid abroad?
07/21/2023, 8:58 am
If Federal Minister of Transport Wissing has his way, the Deutschlandticket will soon also be valid in other countries. Above all, use in neighboring countries is being targeted. In addition, the FDP politician calls for more comfort in trains.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing is in talks with neighboring countries about mutually recognizing national variants of the Germany ticket planned there. “Some states have approached us. Our Germany ticket is admired internationally. France is planning a similar ticket. The goal should be that our ticket is valid there and vice versa,” Wissing told the newspapers of the Bayern media group. “Or think of Bavaria-Austria. Such recognition would be ideal, a beautiful European project.”
According to FDP politician Wissing, more than five million people have switched from other subscriptions to the Deutschlandticket and around six million have bought a new Deutschlandticket subscription. “These include almost a million people who have never used public transport before.”
Wissing is critical of the fact that some federal states offer surcharges for driving in 1st class. “The Deutschlandticket was an achievement because it is valid everywhere. Creating isolated solutions again is basically not effective,” he told the newspapers. But there is a working group that deals with such development issues.
The minister called for the installation of air conditioning for the S-Bahn and U-Bahn. “It cannot be that in the future there will continue to be regional trains, S-Bahn or U-Bahn trains without air conditioning,” he told the newspapers of the Bayern media group. Air conditioning systems in trains are designed for heat up to 45 degrees. “It is also important that there are always water supplies on trains, which can be used to prevent passengers from becoming dehydrated in an emergency.”