Alternative to the 9-euro ticket?
"Climate ticket" causes train chaos in Austria
Created: 08/11/2022 05:57
In Germany, the successor to the 9-euro ticket is currently being discussed.
Austria is a pioneer when it comes to public transport.
But the success of the climate ticket is causing chaos here too.
Vienna – The 9-euro ticket in Germany expires at the end of August.
Politicians and transport experts are discussing how things should continue after the three months in German local and long-distance transport.
During the discussion, it is also worth taking a look at neighboring Austria: the discounted “climate ticket” has been available here since October 2021.
Austrian "climate ticket" as a model for Germany?
Travel throughout Austria for a whole year for 1095 euros: This is made possible by the climate ticket, which the Austrian Ministry of the Environment introduced in October 2021.
Unlike the 9-euro ticket, this ticket is not only valid for a specific promotional period.
It can be purchased at any time throughout Austria.
Another advantage: the climate ticket is valid for all long-distance trains.
Compared to the 9-euro ticket, the climate ticket seems expensive at first.
But compared to similar models, the climate ticket is still comparatively cheap.
With the Bahncard 100, rail passengers can use Deutsche Bahn trains as well as many local transport services and buses for a year.
Here, however, the ticket costs 4144 euros per year for second class.
There are also overcrowded trains in Austria.
Here the climate ticket sometimes causes chaos.
(Archive image) © IMAGO/Gottfried Czepluch
The success of the climate ticket becomes a disadvantage: train chaos in Austria
In Austria, the climate ticket has been successful so far: As the Austrian Ministry of the Environment informs, a total of over 170,000 tickets have been sold.
The costs for the project amount to 121 million euros so far.
But success also has its downsides.
Headlines about overcrowded trains and evictions are piling up in the Austrian media.
The number of passengers increases sharply, especially during the holiday season.
According to the
Wiener Zeitung
, 13,000 additional places were made available during the holidays.
But the trains are still full.
Since the tickets are not automatically accompanied by a seat reservation, the trains are often overcrowded.
Is a reservation obligation the solution to the railway chaos?
If, as a result, safety on the train can no longer be guaranteed, for example because passengers are standing in front of emergency exits, the railway company can ask them to get off the train.
"Therefore, it can happen that we have to ask travelers without a reservation to switch to the next connection if the train is particularly crowded.
Most of these are travelers who only want to travel a short distance by long-distance transport, ”explained an ÖBB spokesman when asked by
Merkur.de
.
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As reported
by oe24
, more than 1,500 passengers have had to leave the train since May despite having a valid ticket.
25 trains had to be cleared completely.
The routes Vienna-Carinthia and Vienna-Lienz are most frequently affected by overcrowding.
In Austria it is now being discussed whether the climate ticket is to blame for the train chaos.
In this country, too, there are repeated reports of overcrowded trains and chaos caused by the 9-euro ticket.
The Austrian railways are now working on a solution: ÖBB is considering making reservations compulsory.
In any case, Germany could learn from the mistakes of the neighboring country when it comes to the successor to the 9-euro ticket.
(sf)