Ramelow wants to cap company car privilege for Germany ticket
The Germany ticket is popular but expensive. next year, its price for customers will increase. Thuringia's Prime Minister Ramelow doesn't understand this, he'd rather save on government cars. Economy Minister Habeck also sees room for maneuver, a prominent FDP politician is not.
Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow finds a price increase for the Germany ticket next year unacceptable. An increase in price is a nonsense if no financing possibilities for price stability are sought, Ramelow said at a campaign event for the Left in Erfurt. He proposed limiting the Dienstwagen privilege - and thus limiting it to mid-range cars and not applying it to premium cars and large SUVs anymore. "Then there would be money for the Germany ticket," Ramelow said.
The Dienstwagen privilege is a tax advantage for people who can also use their government cars privately. According to estimates, it costs the state a billion euros per year in lower tax revenues. However, government cars are an important market segment for some major German car manufacturers.
The transport ministers of the federal states have agreed that the price for the Germany ticket should remain stable at 49 Euros this year. However, they have announced a price increase for 2025. How expensive the ticket will be is still open.
Habeck sees room for maneuver
Bundeswirtschaftsminister Robert Habeck warned against excessively increasing prices. If the ticket price is increased, it should only be minimally increased, so that the attraction of the ticket is not destroyed, Habeck said in a reader dialogue of the "Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung" (WAZ) in Essen. The ticket is successful because it is cheap. "And that should also remain so. That must also remain so," Habeck said. We would be losing the great success otherwise.
At the same time, the Green politician referred to the tight budget of the federal government. With an eye on the upcoming budget negotiations in the German parliament, Habeck sees possibilities to save money and increase financing at other places. The debate has only just begun, Habeck said in Essen. "Perhaps it ends with the 49-euro ticket not becoming more expensive."
"Foreseeable and reasonable"
FDP transportation policy spokesman Michael Theurer, however, sees increasing prices for the Germany ticket as sensible. In the face of general price increases and tariff agreements with the states, it is "completely foreseeable and also reasonable that there will be a price adjustment," Theurer said in the "Rheinische Post." The key to financing lies in the number of sold subscriptions, Theurer emphasized.
The Germany ticket has been available since May 2023. Its holders can use buses and trains of regional and local transport throughout Germany without restrictions. The subscription is monthly and serves as an important instrument for the standardization and simplification of the confusing tariff situation in German public transport. However, there has been controversy between the federal government and the states since its introduction about financing, as the regional transport companies lose revenues due to the attractive offer.
Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow of Thuringia suggests limiting government car privileges to save money for the Germany ticket, as he sees an unacceptable price increase next year. Economy Minister Robert Habeck advises against excessively increasing the ticket price, stating that it should only be minimally increased to maintain the ticket's appeal, and he sees opportunities for savings in other areas for the upcoming budget negotiations.
