Status: 11/30/2022 1:52 p.m
According to the will of the federal and state governments, the 49-euro ticket should start in April at the latest. But the transport associations make it clear: without agreement on the financing of the possible additional costs, there is no ticket.
When will the planned 49-euro ticket be available? According to the Association of German Transport Companies, this is still open. As long as the decisive question of financing has not been clarified, April 1st cannot be kept as the start date, said a spokesman.
The state transport ministers had made a good decision because they had positioned themselves positively to help finance half of the additional costs. “Unfortunately, the Federal Minister of Transport did not do this for the federal government.” The longer this question remains unanswered, the later the transport companies and associations could start introducing the ticket.
Possible additional costs of 4.7 billion euros
The conference of transport ministers had agreed that the ticket, which is valid throughout Germany, should be introduced on April 1, 2023, but the exact financing is disputed. The federal states stated that they would pay for half of the offer, but demanded that the federal government should also contribute 50 percent of the costs. So far, the latter only wants to pay the proportionate total costs of up to three billion euros.
According to an industry assessment, the ticket could cost up to 4.7 billion euros, said Bremen’s Senator for Transport, Maike Schaefer. Additional costs are to be expected, especially during the introductory period.
The managing director of the Association of German Transport Companies, Oliver Wolff, explained that so far the risk of a higher loss on the Deutschlandticket, which goes beyond the agreed three billion euros, has been entirely with the transport companies. But they couldn’t wear it. Therefore, an introduction of the ticket on May 1st seems realistic.
Criticism of Union and environmental aid
Pressure also came from the German Environmental Aid (DUH) and the Union. The DUH accused the FDP of blocking. Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing refused the federal states the necessary support, said DUH Federal Managing Director Jürgen Resch. The federal government must guarantee that it will finance half of the ticket in any case.
The Union spoke of a “false start”. The Union faction had insisted that Minister Wissing appear before the Transport Committee on Wednesday, report to the MPs and answer questions about how to proceed. However, Wissing did not find it necessary to appear, was criticized in the circles of participants.
The opposition narrowly failed in a motion to have the minister summoned to the committee. “The members of the Bundestag have many unanswered questions and time is of the essence,” said CDU transport politician Thomas Bareiß.