Public transport
Countries after traffic lights turned off in concern about Germany ticket
The break in the traffic light coalition could also jeopardize the continuation of ongoing projects. According to fears by some transport ministers, this could also affect many bus and train commuters.
To secure the Germany ticket, Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony are urging that the existing Bundestag adopt a planned change in the law despite the break in the traffic light coalition. The North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Transport, which chairs the Conference of Transport Ministers, assured that the traffic lights being turned off and the budget for the coming year not being approved would have no immediate consequences for the Deutschlandticket.
However, the Baden-Württemberg department head Winfried Hermann (Greens) warned that unused funds must urgently be carried over to next year – otherwise the ticket might become more expensive. “The passengers would be left behind.” Transport Minister Olaf Lies (SPD) from Lower Saxony said: “I warn that the D-Ticket will fall victim to this uncertain transition period in the federal government.” There will be decisions in the next few weeks that should not be postponed – this is an example of that.
Otherwise does the price have to rise?
Specifically, it is about the 10th amendment to the Regionalization Act, which has not yet been passed. The law decides on the use of unused funds from 2023 and is intended to ensure a stable price in 2024 and 2025. The Conference of Transport Ministers decided in September that the Germany ticket, which currently costs 49 euros, should cost 58 euros per month from 2025. For how long is unclear.
“After months of back and forth, passengers expect the political decisions to be reliable,” Hermann told the German Press Agency. “It would be fatal if the price had to be increased again in order to save the ticket, just because pending laws in the general dispute were no longer being implemented.” The NRW Ministry said: “In case of doubt, a new federal government would have to introduce a law with the same objective.” This also applies to the prospect of the Deutschlandticket from 2026. “A new federal government would have to secure half of the financing by law in the long term.”
So far, the federal and state governments have each contributed around 1.5 billion euros annually to the Deutschlandticket. There are no concrete commitments from the federal government for 2026 and the years thereafter.
Lies told the dpa: “The D-Ticket has helped revolutionize people’s mobility.” Thanks to understandable conditions and the price, millions of people are enthusiastic about it. “It must now be a matter of not only saving the D-Ticket, but also developing it further in the long term. We in Lower Saxony have been advocates of this offer from the start. We continue to stand by our promises undiminished.”
Hermann sees Volker Wissing’s remaining Federal Transport Minister, who has resigned from the FDP, as an opportunity to implement transport issues that absolutely need to be regulated in the federal government before new elections. He paid tribute to Wissing for his willingness to fight for solutions to the pressing problems of transport policy, even during the transition, despite the government crisis. “It takes courage to decide so clearly for the cause and against your own party. That deserves recognition.”
dpa
Source: Stern
