The exact start date of the 49-euro monthly ticket planned by the federal and state governments for local and regional transport is still open. The railway and transport union (EVG) is now assuming an introduction in the spring.
From our point of view, the introduction of the Germany ticket on April 1 seems realistic, because some questions about the implementation are still unresolved,” EVG boss Martin Burkert told the editorial network Germany (RND). An announcement from the Federal Ministry of Transport is necessary. “The federal government must have a safe Name the start date for the Deutschlandticket and offer the countries a cost evaluation.”
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) had given the goal for the introduction of the new ticket at the beginning of 2023. However, a start date as early as January is increasingly considered unlikely. The Association of German Transport Companies considers a start of the Deutschlandticket at the beginning of March to be realistic.
Half of the funding comes from the federal government and half from the states
For a special conference of the transport ministers of the federal and state governments on Tuesday (November 29th), Bremen, as the presiding state, submitted the application to abolish the obligation to wear masks in public transport nationwide for the introduction of the planned “Germany ticket” at the beginning of March – if the pandemic situation allows this. The aim is for a uniform approach to be taken by the federal states.
The new ticket, the successor to the 9-euro ticket from the summer, costs three billion euros. The federal and state governments each finance half of it.
Burkert said the federal government should be ready to allocate more money than 1.5 billion euros for the ticket if necessary. “No later than six months after the start of the Deutschlandticket, the federal government must evaluate the costs incurred so far with the federal states and, if necessary, inject additional funds,” emphasized Burkert. The federal government should make this concession to the federal states at the special conference of transport ministers. Otherwise there is a risk of a “total loss” in terms of climate policy. From the point of view of the transport companies, there are still unanswered financing questions.
Rail: Rail network has not grown in demand
Deutsche Bahn emphasized that if the demand for regional transport increases due to the 49-euro ticket, there is little scope for a larger offer. “There is no space for additional trains in regional traffic around the major junction stations,” said Berthold Huber, the railway board member responsible for the infrastructure of the “Welt am Sonntag”. You can no longer make a quarter-hour cycle out of a half-hour cycle. “The infrastructure is dense.” One would have to try to provide more seats on the trains, but there are limits here too. “The infrastructure forgives for a long time, but now the point has been reached where it is no longer possible and the situation threatens to tip over.”
The top priority must be the renovation and capacity expansion of the outdated network, which is becoming increasingly prone to failure. “The punctuality is unacceptable this year and the infrastructure is causing a large part of this problem,” emphasized Huber. The renovation backlog amounts to 50 billion euros. “There is the problem that we have too little network for too much traffic.” That is why significantly more funds are planned for 2023 than the federal budget provides for, even if this amount burdens the economic result of Deutsche Bahn, said the Deutsche Bahn board. Less maintenance because there is no money is no longer an option.
