If the transport minister has his way, the 9-euro ticket is a chance to convince more people of public transport in general. However, a few adjustment screws would have to be turned for this. Above all, more attention must be paid to user-friendliness, in particular simpler tariffs are needed.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing is calling for far-reaching reforms to make local public transport more attractive in the long term. "We have to seize the opportunity to get more people excited about public transport," said the FDP politician, referring to the 9-euro tickets that have now been launched. "Our public transport offer should be more understandable, more uniform and thus more customer-friendly."
Wissing spoke out in favor of user-friendly local transport apps and simpler tariffs. In addition, small-scale structures in public transport would have to be broken up. "Uniform tariffs, offers across transport associations, that is also real added value for customers," said the minister. "People don't live in tariff zones. People want to get from A to B. All the technical things that play a role in the background have to become invisible to users. Digitization helps us there and we have to use it more. We should Think public transport more beyond your own zone and beyond your own special-purpose association."
Wissing described the 9-euro ticket launched at the beginning of the month as a "field test". It is an opportunity to examine to what extent the price is the entry hurdle for public transport or whether more attractive offers are important. "In this way we can gain important insights into exactly this question and align our public transport offer accordingly."
The 9-euro tickets are valid in June, July and August and allow unlimited travel on local and regional buses and trains throughout Germany for one month - much cheaper than normal monthly tickets, which are also only valid in the network area. Consumer advocates, municipalities and transport politicians had already called for permanently low local transport prices and additional billions in subsidies due to the strong demand for the 9-euro ticket.
