The Deutschlandticket is not just an incentive to switch to public transport, says North Rhine-Westphalia Transport Minister Oliver Krischer. It also makes a contribution to climate protection and reduces the burden on commuters by billions.
The transport ministers meet in Münster - but without the federal minister. There are currently some points of conflict in transport policy between the federal and state governments. The price of the Germany ticket will remain stable this year, the transport ministers decided in January. But it is unclear what the ticket will cost from 2025 onwards. Ramona Pop Pop is a freelance journalist. She is based in Berlin and has written for the New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and The Financial Times. She can be reached on Twitter at www.reuters.com/ramonapoppop or on her website www.reuters.com/ramonapoppop. For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details. The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) demands that the discussion at the transport ministers' conference should not stop at the Deutschlandticket. The background is also a planned “expansion and modernization pact” for local public transport. The availability of buses and trains must be increased, said Krischer. “But for this, we need investments in the expansion and maintenance of the railways. The Federal Railway Expansion Act is in the mediation committee after it failed to get a majority in the Bundesrat due to financial issues. In addition, a law passed by the Bundestag on new road traffic regulations failed to achieve the required majority. The states have stopped two federal projects, especially behind the scenes, that the states have stopped for the time being. The federal government's billions in so-called regionalization funds, which the states and transport associations use to order rail and bus connections from transport companies, have been a bone of contention for years - the states are demanding significantly more money.