public transport
What does the Deutschlandticket do for the climate?
The Deutschlandticket starts on Monday – but will it also be a “climate ticket”?
© Roberto Pfeil / DPA
The Deutschlandticket will start next Monday. Climate protectors see this as an important step in the traffic turnaround. But what good does it do for climate protection?
It starts on Monday, the Deutschlandticket starts – but what does it do for climate protection, will it also be a “climate ticket”? Associations and experts are rather skeptical. The core statements: the Deutschlandticket is going in the right direction. The local public transport (ÖPNV) but must be expanded. Further measures are needed to ensure that commuters switch from cars to buses and trains.
“Every trip where the car stops and public transport is used instead is good for the climate,” said Greenpeace expert Marissa Reiserer. “The 49-euro ticket makes buses and trains much less complicated, but does not conjure up any new stations, stops or connections in the country. The introduction can therefore only be the start.” Jens Hilgenberg, Head of Transport Policy at the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland, said whether the ticket saves CO2 remains to be seen. This would be the case if the ticket eliminated a noticeable number of car journeys: “However, it is currently not possible to estimate the extent to which this will take place.”
Transport sector needs to catch up
Traffic is one of the big “problem children” when it comes to climate protection. In the past year, legal requirements for CO2 savings were missed. Emissions increased slightly compared to the previous year to 148 million tons of CO2. After the corona restrictions were largely lifted, car traffic increased again slightly, according to the Federal Environment Agency. The growth in new registrations of electric cars is not enough to offset the increase in emissions.
“In the transport sector, the necessary trend reversal is still not evident,” says a report by the Expert Council for Climate Issues, which the Federal Government and the Bundestag submit for an evaluation of the emissions data. In order to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2045, scenarios showed that there would also have to be a reduction in the number of fossil-fuelled cars. This trend, which should become apparent by 2025 at the latest, is not yet apparent.
Climate effect of the Deutschlandticket: Every tenth trip replaces a car trip
A balance sheet by the Association of German Transport Companies for the 9-euro ticket last summer showed that every tenth trip with the ticket replaced a car trip. In the three months of the offer, around 1.8 million tons of CO2 were saved.
Now the permanent Deutschlandticket is available at the introductory price of 49 euros per month. In the justification for changing the regionalization law, the federal government wrote that there would be an incentive to switch to public transport. “In combination with other measures to strengthen public transport, a significant reduction in greenhouse gases can be expected: “The Deutschlandticket thus makes an effective contribution to achieving the federal climate targets in the transport sector.”
Germany ticket sale starts
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Greenpeace expert Reiserer estimates that in the first year the climate effect of the Germany ticket will probably be less than the 7 million tons of CO2 that a permanent 9-euro ticket would have saved per year. For the Berlin mobility researcher Andreas Knie, no serious answer can yet be found as to what the Deutschlandticket will do for the climate: “The price is too high to expect significant, permanent changes.” A maximum of 5 percent of trips by car are assumed to be replaced by public transport. “The introduction of Tempo 100 on all highway sections would bring significantly more savings.”
Dirk Flege, Managing Director of the Pro-Rail Alliance, on the other hand, called the Deutschlandticket a “climate ticket” because buses and trains only emit a third as much CO2 per passenger as car drivers. “Depending on how many people decide to leave their cars at home or even get rid of them because of the Germany ticket, millions of tons of CO2 can be saved.”
Rural areas in particular need better public transport
The Deutschlandticket is of no use if there are no buses or trains, especially in rural areas. That’s why the offer must be expanded, demanded Bastian Kettner from the ecological traffic club VCD. “The Deutschlandticket is a step in the right direction for more climate protection. But it should be accompanied by other measures to keep cars out of the cities.” Kettner named higher parking fees or additional offers such as car sharing offers.
Greenpeace expert Reiserer said that in order to use the full potential of the Germany ticket, an “expansion boom” and a nationwide social ticket are necessary, so that in the future fewer and fewer people will be dependent on the car. For Hilgenberg, expanding the range of buses and trains is crucial in order to achieve a positive climate effect and to increase the attractiveness of public transport. Accompanying this, measures are necessary to restrict car traffic, especially in urban areas. He mentioned the introduction of Tempo 30 as a recommended speed in cities, higher parking fees or the introduction of a congestion charge.