How bad will it get? Many motorists in Germany are likely to cast an anxious glance at the price lists at the petrol stations on Thursday. With the end of the so-called tank discount, there is a risk of a sharp increase in the price per liter for petrol and diesel.
Local transport is also becoming more expensive – but those who travel to work by train and bus at least know what to expect. Because at the same time as the tank discount, the 9-euro ticket will also expire, and the old, higher prices will now apply again for monthly tickets.
After all, there is now broad agreement that the idea of a simple, nationwide local transport ticket should somehow continue. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) is also in favor. “Volker Wissing convinced me: With a fraction of the financial resources of the 9-euro ticket, he can realize a nationwide, digitally bookable ticket,” wrote Lindner on Twitter for a photo that shows him with the Federal Minister of Transport. However, the price, financing, time frame and many other important details of a possible 9-euro ticket successor are still unclear.
When it comes to fuel, on the other hand, it is already clear that it will become more expensive. The Federal Association of Independent Petrol Stations (BFT) expects a significant increase in the early morning hours of September 1st. “I assume that we will initially see a large price premium,” said the association’s chairman Duraid El Obeid of the German Press Agency. “In the course of the day and in the coming days, however, this will certainly melt away again when competitive effects set in.”
The so-called tank rebate is actually not a rebate, but a reduction in energy taxes on fuel to the minimum permitted in the EU. From September 1st, the old tax rates will again apply to petrol and diesel. Including VAT, the price for premium E10 petrol will increase by 35 cents per liter and 17 cents more per liter for diesel.
The lower tax rates also applied to gas station operators – some of them should still have cheaply bought fuel in stock on Thursday, which they can also sell at a correspondingly lower price. However, El Obeid assumes that the tanks will be empty.
ADAC sends the right signal in times of fuel shortages
The ADAC also expects a significant price increase, although not to the same extent everywhere and not to the full extent of the tax reduction. According to the automobile club, fuel prices have already risen significantly in the past two weeks, after a long decline and brief stagnation in the weeks before. “The petroleum industry has already created a price cushion again,” said ADAC transport president Gerhard Hillebrand.
The ADAC is not demanding an extension of the tank discount, on the contrary. “In times of scarce fuel and the occasion to save fuel that would be the wrong signal,” said Hillebrand. Drivers and above all commuters should be relieved in other ways, for example by increasing the distance allowance.
A new 9-euro ticket, whether for 29, 49 or 69 euros, has significantly more supporters. The quiet end of the offer on September 1st is the worst possible news, said the head of the Federal Association of Consumer Centers (vzbv), Ramona Pop. “According to studies, the ticket has curbed inflation, saved energy, relieved the wallet and the climate and provided an impetus for the urgently needed traffic turnaround.”
Proposals from the countries required
The end of the ticket now leads to an absurd situation, said Pop. “First politicians attracted people with a cheap public transport ticket. Now they are deterred by price increases – after all, some transport companies have already announced significant price increases.” The federal government should stop arguing and get a permanently cheap ticket on the way, demanded the consumer advocate.
Transport Minister Wissing was open to a successor plan in an interview with Deutschlandfunk. But first the structure of the ticket and its financing would have to be clarified – and then the price. Under these conditions, the federal government is also prepared to contribute to the financing, said the Minister of Transport. “One cannot expect the federal government to simply put money on the table if the federal states themselves have no suggestions as to what the new ticket should look like.”
