The search for a successor to the nine-euro ticket is also so difficult because local transport has so far been financed solely from ticket purchases and taxpayers’ money. What makes Austria different – and whether the model could also work here.
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Marco Voelklein
The political pressure seems to have been immense in the end. At the beginning of the week, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and his colleague Volker Wissing (both FDP), who is responsible for transport, rejected a successor solution for the nine-euro ticket that expired on Wednesday. On Wednesday afternoon, the swing came: Now both are relying on a permanently attractive and affordable local transport service. “We know that we have sparked enthusiasm for local public transport,” said Wissing. And Lindner explained: “Once the question of financing has been clarified, the price can be fixed.”