Munich (dpa / lby) - In view of numerous unanswered questions, the Bavarian state government still considers it unrealistic to start the 49-euro ticket in the Free State on January 1st. Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) named the beginning of March as a possible date after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. He again criticized the fact that the permanent financing of the ticket had not been clarified by mutual agreement and called on the federal government to make improvements.
The ministry in Bavaria is working flat out to implement the ticket, assured Bernreiter. But the other state transport ministers also said that January 1st was not feasible. "We say that if we put in a lot of effort, maybe March 1st could be realistic. We'll see - but we're working on it."
The federal and state governments had cleared the way for a 49-euro monthly ticket. This is planned as a digital, nationwide valid Germany ticket for local transport. When it starts is unclear. The German transport companies also consider a start in January to be unfeasible.
The federal government will provide 1.5 billion euros annually for this from 2023, and the federal states will contribute the same amount. However, Bernreiter criticized the fact that the federal states would have to bear any additional costs on their own. "The whole risk as a blank check is in our half," said Bernreiter. At the moment nobody knows how many people want a 49-euro ticket and how high the loss of income for the transport companies could be in the end. At the moment there is a great deal of uncertainty among municipalities and transport associations, because not all the shortfalls in income are financially secure. The federal government must therefore anchor an "obligation to make additional payments".
Bernreiter complained in principle that a 49-euro ticket should now come - although previous calculations had shown that the offer should actually be more expensive. "A 69-euro ticket would be feasible, but you want a 49-euro ticket," he said. Therefore, in the end, it must be the case that the federal and state governments really share all the costs, he demanded. But many other questions are still open - such as how to deal with school transport.
