Time after the 9 euro ticket
Demands for cheap local transport are getting louder
06/05/2022, 12:45 p.m
German citizens can use 9-euro tickets for three months. However, demands for a long-term cheap solution for local transport are already being made. Voices from different camps insist on cheap ticket prices in the future in order to make public transport more attractive.
After the boom in the 9-euro monthly ticket and the strong demand for rail services at Pentecost, consumer advocates, local authorities and transport politicians are calling for permanently low local transport prices and additional billions in subsidies. The Association of Towns and Municipalities spoke out in favor of offering a cheap public transport ticket with unlimited validity throughout Germany even after the 9-euro ticket for local public transport, which was limited to three months, had expired.
The SPD traffic expert Dorothee Martin sees the current discount campaign as an opportunity, but also calls for fundamental improvements. “Wirtschaftswise” Veronika Grimm reacted cautiously to the push for a cheap ticket for everyone. The Pentecost weekend is considered the first test for the 9-euro ticket. This allows holders to travel throughout Germany on local public transport in the months of June, July and August.
According to Deutsche Bahn, at the beginning of the Pentecost holidays, there was very high demand for regional trains, especially to tourist destinations. Travelers reported on Saturday that the trains were sometimes completely overcrowded, and there were also delays. Some train customers would not have found a seat, and passengers had to get off some trains. Also, travelers with bicycles could not board in some places. Regional trains along tourist destinations were also heavily used on Pentecost Sunday, the railway said. Demand is at a similarly high level as on Saturday.
SPD expert Martin said she was very happy about the great popularity of the 9-euro ticket. But it is clear “that we need more money in public transport in the long term,” emphasized the transport policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group in the “Handelsblatt”. In many regions, the offer is unfortunately insufficient. At the same time, the costs also increased for the transport companies.
“Need nationwide public transport country”
The general manager of the Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, told the newspaper that “we don’t need a short public transport summer, but a nationwide public transport country”. It is therefore necessary to think about the prospect of a nationwide valid, uniform and discounted ticket. The federal and state governments should agree on the question of financing against the background of experience with the 9-euro ticket. Only with a permanent increase in funds from the federal and state governments would there be scope to allow more buses and trains to run and also to significantly improve tariff offers, said Landsberg.
The interim head of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv), Jutta Gurkmann, made a similar statement. “In order to strengthen public transport and keep passengers permanently, consistently low ticket prices are important,” she said. “The federal government should therefore decide on a price moratorium for buses and trains and invest in customer-friendly public transport and attractive offers.” Gurkmann suggested “beneficiary financing” as an additional financing option. This would mean involving employers, retailers or private individuals whose real estate increases in value, for example through good public transport connections, in the financing.
The “Wirtschaftsweise” Grimm said with regard to the demand for a nationwide unlimited valid public transport ticket, “with an offer for everyone, including the solvent, you only reduce the financial leeway without being likely to achieve any major effects”. It would be conceivable, for example, to make an extremely favorable offer to young people. So they got used to the use of public transport systems, which would then also become more attractive with increasing expansion, said the economist, who also advises the federal government.