German transport minister considers follow-up of nationwide 9-euro public transport ticket

Due to the success of the current 9-euro public transport ticket, German transport minister Volker Wissing is willing to consider an ongoing alternative, though not before the end of the year. The pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) politician told news agency dpa in an article carried by public broadcaster ARD it is important to wait until November when more data is available from the current scheme, which allows national travel on standard transport systems, in order to better establish the full picture of what the benefits have been and whether it is worth putting something similar in place permanently. Proposals on the table so far include the introduction of 69-euro monthly tickets or an annual 365-euro ticket, but as of yet no decisions have been made. Ultimately, any new scheme’s intricacies will be determined by its financing, Wissing said. “We need a model that fits into the budgets of the states and also the federal budget.” The monthly 9-euro ticket, in place between June and August this year, has cost the federal government around 2.5 billion euros and it so far was understood  to not continue indefinitely.

Last week the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) proposed a permanent 69-euro ticket as a replacement to the 9-euro ticket, which they said could be implemented as early as September. The main benefits of such a ticket, as stated by the transport companies, would be reductions in the use of cars as well as continuing to partly alleviate the higher costs of living caused largely by rising energy prices.