Dhe good news first: the Deutschlandticket will stay for the time being. The offer of being able to use all local public transport in Germany for 49 euros a month is too attractive to be won in the first year of its existence. For once, everyone agrees on this: the otherwise controversial traffic light government, as well as the federal and state governments.
The only people who aren’t so sure about this are the transport companies themselves, a not entirely insignificant group for the implementation of the Deutschlandticket. They have been drumming up for weeks that the federal and state governments take over the entire financing of the low standard price – whatever it takes.
Dispute over financing since launch
The transport ministers of the federal states have agreed to this, but the federal and state governments have only signed this blank check for the introductory year of 2023. For the coming years, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Prime Ministers have flatly rejected the loudly demanded “obligation to make additional contributions”. After all, the estimated 600 million euros of funds not used this year can be carried over to next year.
Instead, the federal and state governments are calling for a ticket that relies on a permanent government subsidy of three billion euros per year. In concrete terms, this means: possibly soon a higher price – and more budgetary discipline from the transport companies. The state transport ministers now have to take care of this. As clearly as the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) rejected any savings options in the run-up to the Prime Minister’s meeting, this is unlikely to be an easy task.
There were disputes over financing from the very beginning – and this always reflected a deep mistrust between the federal government, the states and transport associations about how public transport was managed. The D-Ticket can be used on local buses and trains for 49 euros per month since May 1st – as a digitally bookable, monthly-cancelable subscription throughout Germany. The 49 euros are expressly considered the “introductory price”.
Financial gap of 600 million euros
According to a forecast by the VDV, the loss of income from the low ticket price for the industry this year is likely to be 2.4 billion euros because tickets will only start in May. So they would be more than covered by the promised three billion. According to current calculations, they would be 4.2 billion euros for 2024. This would result in a financial gap of 600 million euros for the two years.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing made the following announcement at half past four in the morning: He “expressly welcomes” the MPK’s decision. This once again reinforces the financial concept agreed last year. “And it shows that the debate started by the states about financing the Germany Ticket was completely unnecessary. They have achieved nothing other than unsettling consumers,” he noted. The reaction of Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung (SPD) showed that the dispute could continue. On Deutschlandfunk he called the decision on the Deutschlandticket a “laughing stock”.
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