The SP wants to halve the price for an annual subscription for trams and buses in the city of Zurich. The project reaps rejection from an unexpected quarter – much to the frustration of the Social Democrats.
Is a cheap public transport subscription also good for the environment? An attempt from Vienna delivered sobering results.
It sounds so simple: an annual subscription for zone 110 for just one franc a day. That is exactly what the SP of the city of Zurich is asking for in an advance. The party wants to encourage more people to switch from cars to public transport.
According to the paper, climate protection should be socially acceptable. The current subscription costs of CHF 782 per year are difficult to afford for people and families with low incomes. It is unacceptable for people to be restricted in their mobility due to modest financial means.
This proposal will be the subject of controversial discussion in the municipal council on Wednesday. What is astonishing is that the SP is mainly receiving criticism from the left. Regula Fischer from AL says: Cheaper public transport for everyone sounds like a good idea. “And it’s also good so shortly before the elections.” But: If so, then this reduction must also benefit all residents of the canton – “including the cleaning lady in the university hospital, who has lived in Schlieren since Weststrasse was calmed down”. In addition, a benefit must be income-related. “This already applies to city dwellers who receive supplementary benefits.”
Doubts about the ecological effect of a cheap subscription
The Greens are also enthusiastic about the idea to a limited extent. Markus Knauss estimates the cost of this project at CHF 150 million a year. He doubts the ecological effect of such a cheap subscription. In a similar test in Vienna, it was seen that absolutely nothing had changed from an environmental point of view. “Throwing away so much money by watering can doesn’t seem like the right way to go.”
The city government also rejects the project. The responsible city councilor Michael Baumer (FDP) justifies this as follows: The project is not legally feasible. It violates cantonal law because it would disadvantage residents outside of the city of Zurich.
On the other hand, it was foreseeable that the project would also be opposed by the SVP. The money will be taken away from those who work, says speaker Attila Kipfer. Meanwhile, Andreas Egli from the FDP summarizes: “If you can’t afford a public transport subscription, you can’t afford a car either.” Accordingly, fewer drivers would switch to trams and buses due to low prices. Rather, Egli suspects a “slightly disrespectful clientele management shortly before the elections”.
In the end, the SP-Motion lacks a majority. The cheap subscription is rejected in the municipal council with 60 no votes to 44 yes votes and 7 abstentions.
Frustration at the SP
Severin Meier (SP) is visibly frustrated by this: “I have to say, I’m amazed at the Greens and the AL.” On the Smartvote, many of the left-wing parliamentarians would have supported the question of a 365-franc subscription.
Meier is particularly disappointed with the AL. “Perhaps we can once again agree on renaming a street after Rosa Luxemburg,” says the parliamentarian sarcastically. But when it comes to real redistribution from top to bottom, the SP is left in the lurch. One thing was once again clear to him: “I’m glad to be in the right party. In one that doesn’t just use social-ecological restructuring as a slogan.»