Germany ticket - Will the monthly bus and train ticket cost 10 euros more?
The traffic ministers of the states are preoccupied today at a special conference in Düsseldorf with the future of the Germany Ticket. Due to the fact that the federal government has not yet released promised funds, there is great concern about a price increase for the nationwide valid fare ticket before the end of the year. The 1st of October is mentioned as a possible date.
The Germany Ticket costs monthly 49 Euro and entitles the holder to travel throughout Germany with the entire public transport system. The federal government and the states subsidize the offer annually with each 1.5 billion Euro. This is intended to offset lower ticket revenues for the transport companies.
The federal government had promised to transfer unused funds from 2023 to 2024 but this has not happened yet. This in turn unsettles the industry. The transport companies are concerned that they will ultimately bear the costs and that the Germany Ticket may therefore fall away.
Will individual regions have to demand more again?
"I see the great danger that a chaotic patchwork will soon emerge with areas where the Germany Ticket can be continued, and others where, for financial reasons, it must be given up," wrote the chairman of the Transport Ministers Conference, NRW Transport Minister Oliver Krischer (Greens), in a letter to Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (both FDP). "To prevent this, the only option is to significantly raise the price of the Germany Ticket very shortly."
Originally, the federal government and the states had given a price guarantee for 2024 – but this is wavering. "If the federal government does not move, a price increase for the Germany Ticket from 1st October 2024 must take effect," said a spokeswoman from Thuringia.
"We have been waiting for over half a year for the Chancellor to keep his word and make the unused federal funds from 2023 available for 2024," said Bavaria's Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU). If the legislative amendment does not come before the summer break, the Germany Ticket "must at least be 10 Euro more expensive in this year."
Chancellor admits to Germany Ticket
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently addressed these concerns. The SPD politician called the Germany Ticket in a government hearing in the Bundestag a great achievement. He could assure that the federal government – as discussed with the minister presidents – would create the necessary financial framework conditions. A necessary amendment of the Regionalization Law will come.
Even if the financing for the current year can be regulated – whether the 1.5 billion Euro from the federal government and the states will also be sufficient in 2025 is open. At the Association of German Transport Companies, there is great concern that the Ticket is not secured for the long term. "It's good that the Transport Ministers Conference can clarify this on Monday when it declares itself in favor of the permanent establishment of the Ticket," said VDV President Ingo Wortmann. Lindner and Wissing are to blame for this so far.
The environmental protection organization Greenpeace proposed investing money in public transport instead of the road to finance the Ticket. "The safest way to repair potholes and finance the Germany Ticket is to stop building new highways," said Greenpeace Mobility Expert Marion Tiemann. "Then all resources can flow into the repair, and there would still be enough money for a long-term secured Germany Ticket."
## Prices cannot remain constant in the long term
Niedersachsen's Transport Minister Olaf Lies (SPD) opposes the idea that the ticket price should remain constant, as he expects "personnel costs or energy costs" to continue rising in the coming years. "But we need a stable and secure price," Lies said, "if we want to achieve our climate goals and offer mobility."
Hessian Economy Minister Kaweh Mansoori (SPD) stated that reliability and predictability are essential for the future of the Germany ticket: "This is less a question of price, but of political will."
- The FDP's Volker Wissing and Christian Lindner are ministers involved in the discussions about the future of the Germany Ticket, which allows travel throughout Germany with public transport.
- Local traffic companies in Germany express concern that the Germany Ticket might increase in price due to the federal government's delay in transferring promised funds.
- In a letter, the chairman of the Transport Ministers Conference, Oliver Krischer from North Rhine-Westphalia (Greens), suggests raising the price of the Germany Ticket to prevent regional discrepancies.
- Christian Bernreiter, the Transport Minister of Bavaria (CSU), criticizes the federal government for not releasing the promised funds, suggesting that the Germany Ticket might cost 10 Euros more in 2024 if no amendment is made before the summer break.
