Public transport after the 9-euro ticket: The offer is simply too bad to be cheap

The 9-euro ticket exposed the weaknesses of regional and local transport in Germany and made them a topic.

Public transport after the 9-euro ticket: The offer is simply too bad to be cheap

The 9-euro ticket exposed the weaknesses of regional and local transport in Germany and made them a topic. It was worth it for that alone. But it wouldn't be a good idea in the long run.

In an ideal world, buses and trains would be free. In addition, they usually have to be punctual, they have to run often enough and should only rarely be overcrowded. In Germany, local public transport is far removed from this. It would still be easiest to make it free of charge, because reliability, timing and space cannot be implemented immediately, even with the best political will.

This is why public transport tickets need a price: public transport journeys are not an unlimited good, their use must be controlled. It's not about excluding poorer people: their mobility can and must be secured by other means instead of a ticket for everyone. But right now it cannot be the goal of transport policy to lure as many people as possible into buses and trains. The offer is just too bad for that.

Conversely, of course, this does not mean that the price of a ticket for local public transport has to reflect the costs. So far this has not been the case. The federal, state and local governments pay billions every year for local and regional transport, because the current offer could not be financed through ticket sales alone.

This means that the question of how expensive a bus ticket should be cannot only be answered in economic terms - it is also a political determination. There are many suggestions as to how expensive a 9-euro ticket replacement should be: the Greens are calling for a regional ticket for 29 euros and a nationwide ticket for 49 euros, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder has spoken out in favor of a 365-euro annual ticket , which is to apply to regional transport throughout Germany, and the Association of Transport Companies is demanding a nationwide 69-euro ticket.

A subscription for a monthly pass for Berlin currently costs EUR 63.42 - if it is also to be used in the commuter belt around the capital, it is EUR 84. The Cologne public transport company calls up 89.40 euros per month for a subscription, and 59.10 euros are due for the Munich IsarCard. The comparison shows that a nationwide valid monthly ticket for 69 euros should be an attractive offer for many, without being so cheap that buses and trains are bursting at the seams.

Because the 9-euro ticket showed one thing: regional transport in Germany is currently not able to transport as many people as would travel for such a price. Having made this clear is the key success of this large-scale experiment. For far too long, the previous transport ministers and the railways themselves have ranted about how great everything will be one day and neglected to take care of the network, vehicles and staff.

Free public transport is justified as a vision. But the implementation of this goal can only be discussed when the supply matches the demand.