The federal and state governments have agreed in principle on a nationwide valid 49-euro ticket. Transport Minister Wissing must now explain to the Bundestag why this is not moving forward. The condition of the federal states for solid financing of local transport is still unfulfilled.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing is campaigning for a final agreement on the targeted 49-euro ticket for buses and trains. "We have to use the momentum from the summer," said the FDP politician in the government survey in the Bundestag. He is pleased that the federal and state governments have decided to create a successor solution for the 9-euro ticket as quickly as possible. Its secret of success was its simplicity: "Buy it once and then drive off - without thinking, without having to deal with honeycombs and complicated tariff structures. That was more convincing than the price."
The transport ministers of the federal and state governments had basically spoken out in favor of a nationwide local transport ticket for 49 euros per month. The goal is an introduction on January 1st. However, the federal states are only willing to co-finance if there is agreement on a general increase in regionalization funds - they use the money from Berlin to order buses and trains from transport providers. The aim is to clarify between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the federal states. In June, July and August, the 9-euro tickets enabled travel throughout Germany for one month.
Wissing countered criticism that the 49-euro successor was of no use to passengers in the country due to the scarcity of bus and train services. The relief effect is significantly higher there. So far, tickets are often so expensive that they have a preventive character, such as single tickets for more than 10 euros or monthly tickets for 300 euros. There is also the "full simplification effect". The future tickets can only be used for one stage. With regard to the loss of income due to the cheaper ticket, Wissing emphasized that it had no impact on the rail expansion goals.
