Transport companies propose 69-euro "climate ticket" for Germany
Clean Energy Wire
The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) has proposed a permanent 69-euro ticket for citizens to use local and regional public transport across the country as a way to incentivise using more climate-friendly means. The so-called "climate ticket" would be offered from September 2022, following on from the current 9-euro ticket, which was introduced for a period of three months as part of a larger relief package for citizens affected by rising energy prices. The new ticket, similarly to the 9-euro ticket, would offer nationwide travel on all standard 2nd class local and regional public transport systems for a single monthly fee of 69-euros.
VDV CEO Oliver Wolff said "the development and momentum that the 9-Euro-Ticket has taken, with its nationwide ticket validity and the fact that 48 percent of citizens have such a ticket in their pockets, has created a situation that we can no longer go back on, especially since the motives - relieving the burden on citizens in favour of climate-friendly mobility - exist more than ever.” It was, however, always recognised that the 9-euro fee was unsustainable given the high costs of running the transport systems, and so a new fee had to be decided that would still act as an incentive for many to favour public transport over driving their own cars. Even the introduction of the 69-euro ticket will require an additional 2 billion euros yearly to be covered by the government, Wolff said.
A 9-euro ticket was introduced for the three months of June, July and August this year, with the goal of alleviating citizens somewhat from the higher costs of fuels like petrol and diesel, as well as promoting an increase in the use of public transport nationally. The implementation of such a ticket was somewhat controversial, for example due to the 2.5 billion euro support the German government has had to pay in order to support the scheme, and because it is not clear whether it will actually convince people to permanently switch from their cars to trains and buses.
