Game changer or non-starter? Above all, opinions are divided on the price of the planned 49-euro ticket – also in the star-Readership. The editors received these letters.
The 49-euro ticket for buses and trains should come, if possible from January 1st – the federal and state governments recently agreed on this. But whether it will actually be as successful as the 9-euro ticket in the summer is uncertain. Above all, social and environmental organizations criticize the price, which is perceived as too high: too much to persuade drivers to switch to local public transport, too expensive for poorer people.
A recent survey by the opinion research institute Insa for the “Bild” newspaper Apparently the critics are right: According to this, 65 percent of those questioned rated the planned offer as good or very good. However, almost half stated that they did not want to use it.
among the starreaders who have written to the editors have differing opinions on the 49-euro ticket.
That’s what stern readers say about the 49-euro ticket
Michael Zachau: “The ticket is undeniably a relief in the tariff jungle, it will reduce the monthly costs for many (mainly because you can drive across tariff zones) but one thing it won’t do: persuade people to leave their cars at home Subscription available – what should I do with it if I only need it now and then? – and on the other hand it’s just too expensive for three or four times. The parking garage in the nearest town is cheaper. (…). It would be 365- Euro ticket (‘only one euro per day’) has also been a psychologically valuable alternative.”
Manfred Krause: “As a pensioner who drives a car, I think 49 euros is too expensive! 29 euros would be good and would represent a welcome financial support for many people.”
Phillip Flick: “49 euros is (…) a massive discount and – let’s be honest – a cheap option for a completely Germany-wide local transport system. Instead of reducing this even further to 9 euros, people in the countryside would much rather have the saved billions to invest in the expansion of routes, connections and personnel in order to be able to enjoy public transport at all. Unfortunately, this image is foreign to all people in metropolitan areas who can take a train every ten minutes. (…) That’s why I think personally the ticket as well as it is designed, quite appealing.”
Jurgen Schoen: “The 49-euro ticket is not payable for pensioners with a small pension. A pensioner has to live off the 49 euros for a week. Why isn’t there a social ticket for pensioners who don’t have a pension of more than 1,000 euros?”
Birgit Hellthaler: “The subscription function (…) I find completely deterrent and the price is clearly far too high! (…) For nine euros, however, I would have bought the ticket purely out of solidarity (to support the financing and my basic to convey interest) and then used for other journeys (shopping around town, visiting the doctor, etc.) or for the tram in Leipzig. (…) A little more courage would have done us all good.”
Alex P: “I think the 49-euro ticket is great, it saves me 110 euros from the current price or I don’t have to drive through the city or fight for free parking spaces every day.”
Martin Wegner: “And once again the author searches (of this comment; editor’s note) the fly in the ointment. But why is a society actually forced to carry a paper ticket after every digitization refuser? And let’s just wait and see whether there could be the unimaginable case that a person from Hamburg wants to leave their city to look around in Germany.”
Sibilla Hoche: “For people with a small pension (disability pension), 49 euros is too expensive. That would be almost 100 euros for me and my partner. We can’t afford that.”
Andrew Voigt: “What I miss about the 49 euro per month ticket in Germany, in my opinion, is the following: no reduction for the needy; no tax advantages for companies who want to subsidize the ticket for their employees; no obvious adjustments to the bus/train timetables. (.. .) For Germany vacationers with a lot of time in their luggage, this is a real bargain.”
Claudia Sassenberg: “The ticket price of 49 euros is too high. But the most annoying thing about it is the subscription.”
Thomas Berger: “For me, that’s a bargain compared to today. I’m a long-distance weekend commuter without a car. I commute to the office every two weeks, the rest of the time I’m at home and use public transport there. Today I have a subscription for 760 euros a year plus around 10 single trips at the office location for 2.70 euros per month, i.e. around 900 euros a year. I also travel very often in other associations, so the 49-euro ticket will make that easier too.”
Betty: “That can only work if we let more trains run at shorter intervals. Even in urban areas, a frequency of 30 minutes and more is not just a rarity. Ten-minute intervals are already mandatory on many routes and at certain times. (. ..) The 49 euros is already the lowest limit as long as we don’t have enough trains and staff.”
Mark Wolk: “When the 9-euro ticket came up, I traveled a lot, after a long time I left the big city where I live. So I shopped in supermarkets on the way, made my sandwiches on public benches, and bought a cheap coffee and also drank it in public spaces to save money. I’ve seen a lot, I’m grateful for that, it was very good for me. I still have the lethargy from the two years of lockdown, time has slowed me down for a long time. The ticket got me out of there temporarily. Having little money also means having little leeway when it comes to leisure activities, especially when it comes to excursions and trips. (…) Why isn’t the discount for low-income people included in the plans for the 49-euro ticket? (. ..) Now the feeling of disappointment is back. I don’t count, I guess.”
Klaus-Peter Seeger: “49 euros is too expensive for my personal public transport needs per month, I would never actually use the range. Price lower, range in the neighboring transport associations would be enough for me.”
Shaman Arithu: “For a bakery saleswoman with a net salary of 1,300 euros, 49 euros is hardly manageable. Because the rent alone eats up 800 euros (if she’s lucky), and other ancillary costs eat up the rest. What’s left to live on is even below the current one Basic rule set. Not only does this have to guarantee the cleanliness of the apartment, but it also has to be lived somehow. Such a bakery saleswoman will not be able to afford this ticket, even if she needs it.”
Hans Peter Preuss: “The ticket is too expensive and only suitable for city people!”
Andre A.: “What about the people who live in the country? Can they get fuel for a month for 49 euros to drive to work?”