According to the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), the Germany ticket for monthly 49 euros in local transport will probably not be able to be introduced until May. “The time to start will be May 1st,” said CEO Oliver Wolff Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. It is not possible much earlier. There is still a lot to do before everything is administratively settled. He cited the tariff approval process as an example. In addition, the tariff systems of the transport associations would have to be changed.
The 49-euro ticket is also an issue at the transport ministers’ conference on Tuesday. Federal Minister Volker Wissing had set the target for the introduction at the beginning of 2023. It is supposed to be the successor to the 9-euro ticket from the summer.
From the point of view of the railway and transport union (EVG), there are still unanswered questions, as EVG boss Martin Burkert recently pointed out Editorial network Germany (RND) said. An announcement from the Federal Ministry of Transport is necessary. “The federal government must name a safe start date for the Deutschlandticket and offer the states a cost evaluation.”
uncertainties about the costs
There is still some ambiguity when it comes to costs. The general manager of the German Association of Cities, Helmut Dedy, said Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “We think the Deutschlandticket is a very good idea – but only if it is properly financed.” That is not the case. “The federal and state governments are trapped in the symbolism they create,” criticized Dedy. According to today’s forecast, the ticket cannot be financed. Therefore, the municipalities could not get involved in dividing the costs into thirds. VDV general manager Wolff said: “Three billion euros will not be enough.”
According to EVG boss Burkert, the federal government should be prepared to provide more money than 1.5 billion euros for the ticket if necessary. “No later than six months after the start of the Deutschlandticket, the federal government must evaluate the costs incurred so far with the federal states and, if necessary, inject additional funds,” says Burkert. The federal government should make this concession to the federal states at the conference of transport ministers. Otherwise there is a risk of a “total loss” in terms of climate policy.