Savings for users, a breath of fresh air for the planet.
The monthly ticket for 9 euros in public transport, tested since June in Germany, is a success.
It has reduced CO2 emissions by 1.8 million tonnes, according to the latest calculations by the German public transport association VDV.
This is the equivalent of as many round trips from Frankfurt to New York by plane or the carbon footprint of some 160,000 French people throughout 2018.
This experimental measure decided by the coalition government was intended to offset the impact on consumers of soaring energy prices in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
A total of 52 million tickets were sold and ten million people who already had a monthly subscription also benefited.
This ticket still allows until Wednesday evening to take regional and local trains, metros, trams and buses throughout the country.
Aktuelle Bilanz #9EuroTicket⁰
📍 52 Mio.
verkaufte Tickets, hinzu kommen 10 Mio.
Abonennten/Monat
📍 10% der Fahrten mit dem Ticket haben eine Autofahrt ersetzt
📍 Insgesamt liegt der Anteil der aus anderen Verkehrsmitteln verlagerten Fahrten bei 17%
👉 https://t.co/1PP1iZ3s1s pic.twitter.com/Za27hB7dxV
— VDV (@VDV_Verband) August 29, 2022
Among the users who have benefited from it, 10% indicated that they had given up at least one trip per week usually made by car, according to a study carried out since June at the rate of 6,000 people questioned per week.
The inhabitants of rural areas have benefited little from it, for lack of an adequate transport offer.
Soon tickets at 49 or 69 euros?
On the back of the success of this system, the transport ministers of the regions of Germany called on the coalition government of Social Democratic Chancellor (SPD) Olaf Scholz on Friday to propose a measure taking over from the 9-euro ticket, financed by the 'State.
The Federal Environment Agency is in favor of this: "A ticket for 49 euros or 69 euros for the whole of Germany would make sense and could be financed by reducing environmentally harmful subsidies in transport", explains its director at Spiegel.
The SPD parliamentary group offers a 49 euro ticket valid throughout the country for local transport, sharing the bill equally between the federal government and those of the regions, according to the daily Bild.
The city-state of Berlin, also led by the SPD, is also considering making the experience permanent, according to the RBB channel (Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg).
Das bundesweite #9EuroTicket gilt nur noch bis Donnerstag.
Wie es dann weitergeht, ist unklar.
Das Berliner #Abgeordnetenhaus berät heute über eine mögliche Zwischenlösung - noch gibt es aber viele offene Fragen.
https://t.co/rQoRuBlqKl
— rbb|24 (@rbb24) August 30, 2022
The neighboring Land of Brandenburg could participate.
A technical discussion will take place on Thursday with representatives of Brandenburg and transport companies in particular, announced the mayor of Berlin Franziska Giffey.
Anyway, this ticket will not be implemented until October.
It could also be more expensive.