Can the new 49-euro ticket help protect the climate and permanently change people’s behavior? The Association of German Transport Companies sees it positively.
The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) sees great potential in the new Deutschlandticket. People could use it to change their mobility behavior permanently – more than was possible with the 9-euro ticket.
“We expect that we will make a contribution to climate protection, that we will get more passengers,” said Oliver Wolff, general manager of the association, of the German Press Agency. “It’s a very good offer for citizens because it also takes away the complexity of local transport: one ticket for everything. It also corresponds to today’s flat-rate mentality.” For cost reasons, there will be no free bicycle transport with the Deutschlandticket, and an additional ticket will still be necessary.
The federal and state governments had cleared the way for a 49-euro monthly ticket with an agreement on financing issues. This is planned as a digital, nationwide valid Deutschlandticket. When it starts is unclear. The transport companies do not consider a start in January, as intended by Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), to be feasible. According to Wolff, an introduction on March 1st is realistic.
The predecessor and the long-term solution
According to a VDV assessment based on nationwide market research in August, 17 percent of users of the 9-euro ticket in summer switched from other means of transport such as cars or bicycles to local public transport. 10 percent of the buyers of the cheap ticket would have given up at least one of their daily car journeys. Every fifth buyer was a new customer.
Wolff said that these numbers are not very meaningful in the direction of the 49-euro monthly ticket that is now planned. “It was a tough price. It was a three-month period, it was also a bit of a summer holiday offer. Now we’re talking about a long-term tariff measure.”
You don’t completely change your own habits for three months. “It looks different now. Now I have real planning security for years that this ticket exists,” said Wolff. “And so I can now also make a decision: How do I actually deal with my car? How do I deal with the way to work? And I do believe that with the costs that we all have at the moment, that there there is really a switch. This applies, for example, to commuters who have previously traveled in several tariff zones.”
Wolff went on to say that the Germany ticket only makes sense if there is a consistent expansion of the offer. “This ticket is of no use to anyone in rural areas or in urban areas if there is no reasonable transport offer.” The federal government’s increase in regionalization funds is a positive step. “I assume that politicians will now continue to increase the offer.” One or the other offer will have to be reduced because the total increase in funds is not yet sufficient. “But the upheavals in energy and personnel costs are too great for that. But there will be no massive slump in public transport traffic.”
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.
