Countries: Germany ticket will be more expensive in 2025
Eleven million people use the Germanyticket. However, its financing is on shaky ground. The transport ministers of the states are calculating with a price increase next year.
The Germanyticket for nationwide public transport will be more expensive next year. The price of 49 Euro will remain stable in 2024, said North Rhine-Westphalia Transport Minister Oliver Krischer after a special transport ministers' conference in Düsseldorf. However, he added, "49 Euro will not be sustainable in 2025." The exact increase is still unclear, according to Krischer. Decisions on the new price are to be made by the states in October. The necessary increase is also due to the fact that the federal government is reducing funding by 350 million Euro. In addition, he wants to ban discounts like those for school tickets.
"We, as transport ministers of the states, want to maintain the attractiveness of the ticket. We will do everything we can to make this increase as moderate as possible," said Krischer, but he also referred to the general price development, inflation, and cost development in public transport.
The federal government and the states had calculated 1.5 billion Euro each for the ticket for one year last year. Three billion Euro is available for this year. Since the ticket was only introduced in May 2023, there is still money left over for this year. The states wanted to use the approximately 350 million Euro from the federal government and the states in this year, but the money has not flowed yet. According to a draft law of the federal government, which was sent for consultation on Friday, the money can only flow from 2026, that is, after the federal election. This caused additional frustration among the states.
The ticket itself is considered a success and has now more than eleven million users. However, transport companies lack revenues from monthly subscriptions or individual tickets in return, resulting in a shortage of funds overall.
The Germanyticket's increasing cost in politics has sparked discussions among transport ministers. They aim to maintain the ticket's affordability despite the need for a price rise due to reduced federal funding and inflationary pressures in transport policy.
Despite the success of the Germanyticket in attracting over eleven million users, transport companies face revenue challenges, highlighting the need for a balanced transport policy regarding ticket pricing and funding.
