What happens after the 9-euro ticket expires at the end of August? Will prices then go up again? The Minister of Finance finds clear words.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner has dampened expectations that there could be follow-up rules for tank discounts and 9-euro tickets in September.
“We cannot compensate for the long-term increase in prices for imported oil, the development of the dollar and the shortages in refineries with state money,” said Lindner of the German Press Agency. Both reliefs last until the end of August.
Lindner said that the important effect of the price signal was also canceled with the 9-euro ticket. “Steps in the direction of free public transport are critical because shortages cannot then be controlled via price,” said Lindner. There would be a risk that without prices, capacities would be used unnecessarily and excessively.
Transport industry criticized Lindner’s statements
The transport industry reacted with criticism. Ingo Wortmann, President of the Association of German Transport Companies, said on Monday: “The federal government is currently not fulfilling its financial commitments from the coalition agreement and fuel and energy costs have also been exploding in our industry for months. If these issues are not resolved as quickly as possible, then we will not be discussing the continuation of a 9-euro ticket, but about restrictions on public transport services from autumn”.
Wortmann said that everyone involved in the industry, at federal and state level, is aware that the 9-euro ticket is a one-time relief measure for citizens. “We don’t have any reserves in the industry to do something like this on our own.” The industry is feeling the full force of the shortages raised by the federal government, and the first bankruptcies are already threatening. “The federal government is therefore required, on the one hand, to cushion the price increases for the transport companies and, on the other hand, to increase the regionalization funds – as anchored in the coalition agreement – this year so that the achievement of the climate protection goals does not become unrealistic.”
States are demanding more money from the federal government
The federal states have also been demanding more money from the federal government for a long time. Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) first wants to wait for the results of a working group on structural reforms in local public transport.
The transport policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Dorothee Martin, told the dpa that it was clear that the 9-euro ticket could not be retained in the long term. “In order to make public transport more attractive, we also need a better offer and simple, inexpensive usability. Experiences from other countries have shown that this is the prerequisite for a stronger switch to public transport. We first have to wait for the results of the 9-euro ticket and draw our conclusions from the evaluation. But one thing is already clear: stronger public transport is a key to a climate-friendly transport policy. In order to really strengthen public transport, we need more funds and a transparent use of funds on a permanent and reliable basis.”
DGB board member Stefan Körzell said of Lindner’s statements: “Instead of now again invoking the magic powers of the market, the federal government should translate the knowledge gained from the tank discount and 9-euro ticket into permanent solutions. Millions of Germans are waiting for public transport to be renovated and expanded, digitized, well and qualified staffed and affordable. That is the job of the federal government.
Transport and finance ministers must now set the course for this. “Instead, they seem to be looking for the siding. This fuels the suspicion that Lindner just wants to save the debt brake for 2023, »said Körzell. This shows once again that the debt brake is nothing more than a brake on investment and the future. The turnaround in traffic cannot be achieved without investments in infrastructure and personnel.”
Lindner relies on tax adjustments
Lindner insists that the debt brake suspended in the corona pandemic will be complied with again in the 2023 federal budget. However, there are voices in the coalition partners SPD and Greens who question this.
As a state relief measure in the coming year, the FDP politician is counting on higher benefits for recipients of basic security and an adjustment of wage and income tax to inflation.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
