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The nine-euro ticket has no future. His good spirit does

2022-08-12T12:10:11.410Z


The 9-euro ticket may not be financially viable, unecological and inefficient in the long run. The spirit of optimism that it triggered is definitely worth preserving.


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S-Bahn trains in Munich: what if the magic of the 9-euro ticket is not the low price, but the low organizational effort involved in buying it?

Photo: CHRISTOF STACHE / AFP

The trains are busier than usual. They're also less punctual than they've been in a decade.

The 9-euro ticket may be easy on the wallets of many commuters, but not on their nerves.

In order to avoid the crowds and waiting in the Munich S-Bahn network, I have been cycling to the SPIEGEL office more often than usual since June.

I use the train flat rate for family trips at the weekend.

But because even in Bavaria no one has yet come up with the idea of ​​curbing inflation with free beer, the money that can be saved with the nine-euro free ticket trickles down the thirsty throat in the beer garden by the lake.

The climate protection effect of the traffic light campaign has so far been poor.

So far, commuters have not switched from cars to buses and trains in droves.

Nevertheless, the Greens are insisting on a successor model when the local transport discount expires at the end of the month.

The overwhelming majority of Germans have the same wish.

FDP Finance Minister Christian Lindner sees a "free mentality" at work that is unecological, unfair, inefficient and difficult to finance.

His refusal to extend the relief measure is logical.

And yet not thinking far enough.

What if the magic of the 9-euro ticket isn't the low price, but the little organizational effort involved in buying it?

Citizens may not want to travel for free, they just want to drive off.

To discover a country that so often gets in its own way with its bureaucratic mentality.

"Germany thinks and acts too complicated," complained the Regulatory Control Council a year ago about the growing number of regulations and administrative rules.

The "Preparatory Measures Act" that came into force two years ago and is intended to speed up the approval process for major railway and infrastructure projects has not yet proven its unleashing power.

The 9 euro ticket is different.

more on the subject

  • 9-euro success: Large German transport association sees no chance for another cheap ticket quickly

  • SPIEGEL survey: Majority in favor of extending the 9-euro ticket

  • Dispute over discounted local transport: Lindner does not want to plan “any funds” for a 9-euro ticket

A feeling of weightlessness arises, for example, when you – loosely adapted from Edmund Stoiber – board the Munich main train station in the direction of the airport without losing your mind when buying a ticket because of all the zones, numbers, letters and rings.

Before the introduction of the 9-euro ticket, the federal German tariff jungle with saver tickets from transport associations, Deutsche Bahn and private providers was reminiscent of Germany at the time of the customs barriers.

Now there is a collective spirit of optimism.

The public transport flat rate promises an uncomplicated Federal Republic in which you no longer have to take two days of vacation to apply for and pick up a child's passport.

When is the nine-minute cycle in local transport?

How about nine times faster WiFi in Germany?

No matter how unfinanceable or unecological the 9-euro ticket may be in the long run, its good spirit is definitely worth preserving.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-08-12

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