A Germany ticket for 15 euros, that’s what the Left/The Party for Needy People in Munich is calling for. It is supported by the Munich Social Alliance, which also includes the large welfare organizations such as Caritas, Diakonie, Awo and Paritätische. “We need mobility for everyone. It determines whether you can master your life and feel like you belong,” said alliance spokeswoman Karin Majewski, who heads the parity in Upper Bavaria. Many thousands of Munich residents could benefit from the ticket, says Left City Councilor Brigitte Wolf. “It’s a win for these people – and therefore also a win for the city.”
The left-wing city councilors from Munich are inspired by their party colleagues in Nuremberg, who have successfully campaigned there with social organizations and trade unions for a reform of the social ticket. From August 1st, those entitled in Nuremberg will now receive a Germany ticket for 19 euros. “Mobility is an important aspect of participation. Despite the tight budget situation, we are making this offer possible with considerable resources,” said Mayor Marcus König (CSU) in a statement.
“What a CSU mayor could announce in Nuremberg, an SPD mayor should also be able to do in Munich,” said Nuremberg Left City Councilor Titus Schüller. In order to prove that Munich could finance this, the leftists have drawn up an invoice. The normal Isarcard for Zone M costs EUR 63.20 per month. The owners of a Munich Pass, i.e. people who live near or below the poverty line, pay 31.10 euros for their reduced Isarcard, and 17,500 Munich residents receive this social Isarcard per month. The left would have to pay the difference of 32.10 from the city anyway. If the municipality now takes this amount and adds 1.90 euros on top of it, the subsidy of 34 euros is hardly higher. Munich Pass holders would then only have to pay 15 euros and would have a Germany ticket.
For people in need, this solution would have significant advantages, but also a disadvantage. It would be positive if Munich Pass holders would only have to pay 15 euros for their local transport ticket instead of the previous 31.10 euros. They are even allowed to use public transport throughout Germany, and in Munich between six and nine in the morning. Your ticket is not valid during this period. However, this entitles subscribers to take their children up to the age of 14 with them free of charge. This regulation does not apply to the Deutschlandticket.
The SPD and the Greens in the town hall think the basic direction of the left initiative is correct and a social Germany ticket is desirable. The SPD itself is currently working on an application, said parliamentary group spokeswoman Anne Hübner, but the implementation is extremely difficult within the MVV transport association with all the partner districts. The Greens are experiencing the same thing, they see the Free State as having an obligation. “He could introduce this unbureaucratically for the whole of Bavaria,” said social spokeswoman Clara Nitsche. But the Greens would stay tuned and recalculate the conversion of the social ticket for Munich. The CSU is also hoping for a national solution. The advance of the left is a “quick shot”, said city councilor Alexandra Gassmann, the calculation of the financing is doubtful from her point of view.
The left does not understand why this is so complicated. At the request of the SZ, the MVV explained that the municipalities would already bear the difference for the social tickets. Councilor Wolf would simply take this amount, increase it slightly and let the recipients pay their smaller part. Nuremberg managed that too, including a technical solution in just two months.