After a 9-euro ticket: Wissing wants the end of the tariff jungle | free press

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For just 9 euros per month you can go anywhere, local public transport in Germany will soon no longer be that cheap. But why can’t rail travel at least remain as uncomplicated?

Berlin.

The 9-euro ticket is still available until the end of August – but the discussion about what comes after that is already picking up speed. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) wants to work towards a permanent simplification of the fare system in local public transport.

“If the complicated tariff zones disappear and the tickets are valid nationwide, local public transport will be used much more,” said Wissing of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “We should therefore finally find ways to end the tariff jungle in Germany.”

The ticket entitles buyers to travel throughout Germany on local public transport in June, July and August for 9 euros each.

Proposal met with approval

The minister’s proposal has met with approval from local authorities and associations – albeit subject to certain conditions, primarily of a financial nature. The general manager of the municipal umbrella organization, Helmut Dedy, told the German Press Agency on Saturday: “Public transport must become more attractive, the cities support a simpler tariff system.”

The City Day is therefore pleased that the Federal Transport Minister now apparently wants to talk to the federal states and local public transport providers about tickets that are valid nationwide. However, this is not an easy undertaking, which is why “creative solutions” are required here. A prerequisite is “that at the same time the massively increased costs in the area of ​​energy and personnel” are compensated and thus the stock is secured. Bavaria’s Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) said: “It is completely unrealistic to clear the tariff jungle without spending money on it.”

Thomas Bareiß, spokesman for transport policy for the CDU parliamentary group, also commented on Kritsch. “People want one
simple, user-friendly and fair ticket system,” he told the Funke media group. However, experience and surveys have shown that, first and foremost, the offer has to be constantly improved. “This is the only way people can change sustainably.” The 9-euro ticket called Bareiß a “very expensive marketing campaign”.

There was a more positive response to Wissing’s initiative from the Pro Bahn passenger association. The tariff structure in local transport is very complicated in Germany, said Andreas Schröder from Pro Bahn of the German Press Agency. Initiating a change here is therefore “fundamentally to be welcomed”. In view of the persistence of the transport associations, this will certainly not be easy. A possible model would be, for example, a “kilometer-based tariff”.

Schröder: Don’t create unnecessary traffic

Schröder said that the past few weeks had shown that the 9-euro ticket also created additional leisure traffic “that would not have taken place otherwise”. This can be observed above all on routes that are interesting for tourists and where regional trains run parallel to long-distance traffic on long route sections. When considering a follow-up regulation for the 9-euro ticket, care should be taken “not to create unnecessary traffic”.

A positive effect of the 9-euro ticket is the “disruptive character,” said Schröder. This has shown – beyond the difficult financial issues – that fundamental changes are possible.

Wissing called the 9-euro ticket in the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” a “brilliant success” and the “best idea for rail transport in a very long time”. According to the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), around 21 million special tickets were sold nationwide as of the end of June. In addition, there are 10 million subscribers who automatically receive the discounted ticket. “We have noticeably less traffic on the roads, significantly less traffic jams,” said Wissing. “Apparently many have switched from cars to buses and trains.”

Extension of the 9-euro ticket unlikely

However, despite the minister’s enthusiasm, an extension of the offer seems unlikely. “I can understand that financing local public transport is a major challenge for the federal states,” he said. “But it is also clear to everyone that the federal government cannot finance a monthly ticket for 9 euros in the long term. That would be around ten billion euros a year.” Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) had already spoken out against extending the 9-euro ticket at the end of June.

In the meantime, however, various models are circulating with which traveling in local and regional transport should be cheaper and less complicated even after the end of the 9-euro ticket – even if not at the same competitive price. For example, the consumer centers have brought the idea of ​​a 29-euro ticket into play, i.e. the continuation of the radically simplified model at slightly higher prices. And the Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD) has developed the concept of a so-called Länder-Plus-Ticket, which replaces the complicated patchwork of tariffs with eight partially overlapping metropolitan areas. Subscriptions for trips in these large areas should cost between 30 and 75 euros per month. (dpa)

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