A ticket machine in Augsburg, Germany. MICHAEL DALDER (Reuters)
A 9 euro ticket to travel throughout Germany.
The summer experiment of the Government of Olaf Scholz was, in addition to being expensive, risky.
He could have collapsed public transport or failed to achieve his purpose, which was to convince motorists to leave their cars at home.
But the subscription, which has been valid from June 1 to August 31, is considered a success.
"It has been one of our best ideas," the foreign minister said a few days ago.
So much so that now he has to find a successor to the famous
9-euro-ticket
, as it is known in German.
The Government, already determined to continue subsidizing public transport as a way of dealing with the energy crisis, is trying to convince the federal states to create a cheap and valid monthly subscription throughout Germany.
So far, Berlin has moved ahead.
Faced with the possibility that the agreement does not materialize until January, the city-state approved its own monthly ticket at a reduced price on Wednesday.
It will cost 29 euros and will work from October to December.
The equivalent current subscription, only valid in the capital, costs 86 euros, with a cheaper version (63 euros) if used only after 10 in the morning.
"It is a financial relief that Berliners urgently need," said the Councilor for Mobility, the green Bettina Jarasch, when presenting it.
A person shows the monthly pass of nine euros issued by the local transport company in Berlin but valid throughout Germany.
ANNEGRET HILSE (REUTERS)
The
9-euro-ticket
was the star measure of the second aid package approved by the Government to compensate for high fuel prices.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has skyrocketed energy costs in a country heavily dependent on Russian gas that is beginning to fear social unrest.
That is why everything that means reducing consumption is received with enthusiasm.
The fertilizer has saved the emission of 1.8 million tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere, according to a study by the German Association of Transport Companies (VDV).
"Its positive effect in the fight against climate change is verifiable," the employer said a few days ago.
The price, unbeatable compared to the private vehicle, had its effect both on business trips in well-connected urban centers by commuter train, bus or metro, as well as on pleasure trips.
"We could have gone by car, but we wanted to take advantage of the last day of the
9-euro-ticket
and thus save a little," confessed Antje, sitting with her husband Helge on the upper deck of the RE3 regional train that had just left the capital on the way. to the Baltic Sea.
"We have used it all summer to move around the city, although it is true that we used to do it before," she added, on the last day the subscription was in force.
With Germany already out of the vacation period on August 31, because schools had already started, the two retirees were preparing to spend a few days on the island of Rügen.
They calculated the itinerary, with two transfers, always to regional trains because the high-speed ones are not included in the subscription.
"If we have anything, it's time," Helge smiled.
Another thing is comfort.
They were lucky because they positioned themselves well on the platform and got on the first, but the train left Berlin full, with passengers sitting with suitcases on the stairs that connect the top and bottom of the cars.
The bicycle wagon, also full: there were 12. As soon as it started, the public address system announced that the mask is mandatory and reminded that the nine-euro pass was not valid in first class,
In the three months of the experiment, 52 million passes were sold (the German population is 83 million) and the VDV estimates that around 20% were bought by people who did not usually use public transport.
The emissions saved are equivalent to the energy needed by 350,000 homes or the gas cuts that would be achieved if Germany imposed a speed limit on its highways, the only taboo that the war in Ukraine has not yet demolished.
An average car emits around 4.6 tons of CO₂ per year, recalls the employers of the sector.
And there are more and more.
According to recent data from the Federal Statistical Office, 580 cars circulate in the country for every 1,000 inhabitants;
in absolute figures, 48.5 million, 300,000 more than in 2021.
The Greens, promoters of the idea, now find that it is no longer so difficult to convince their coalition partners, Social Democrats and Liberals, to agree on a new subscription as cheap as possible and as soon as possible.
The popularity of the nine-euro bill is undeniable among the population, although complaints have also been heard from regular users fed up with crowds and there are experts such as Christian Böttger, a professor at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences, who questions the VDV study and maintains that there is no evidence of a significant shift from private cars to public transport.
The third German aid package, approved at the beginning of the month, includes an item of 1,500 million to finance the new installment.
It will be necessary, yes, that the federated States contribute at least the same amount.
And therein lies the problem.
They ask for more money from Berlin or, like Bavaria, they are reluctant and argue that the subscription does not solve the problems of rural areas, less well connected by public transport.
If there is an agreement, the ticket could cost between 49 and 69 euros per month, according to the text agreed upon by the three federal government parties.
The Greens press for it to be 49 euros.
Like Berlin, also North Rhine-Westphalia – in both states the Greens are part of the regional government coalition – has sought its temporary version of the cheap ticket until the national agreement arrives.
Starting this month, anyone with a local season ticket will be able to use it for free to travel throughout the State (of 18 million inhabitants) on weekends.
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