49-euro ticket: Experts expect a false start

Created: 11/29/2022, 11:09 am

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

After the popular 9-euro ticket, the Deutschlandticket is to follow in 2023 – for 49 euros a month.

But the launch of the savings ticket could be delayed by several months.

Bremen – The Deutschlandticket, also known as the 49-euro ticket, was supposed to be introduced at the beginning of 2023.

But the federal and state governments have been arguing about funding for months.

There are also major discrepancies with the start date of the saver ticket.

Now the Germany ticket is again a topic at the digital conference of transport ministers on Tuesday.

49-euro ticket: According to the association, the introduction could be delayed until May

Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) had given the target for introducing the new ticket for 49 euros a month at the beginning of 2023.

It is to be the successor to the 9-euro ticket, which sold millions in the summer.

Wissing is therefore urging the plans to be implemented quickly.

"There is a unanimous decision by the Prime Ministers' Conference that binds everyone.

It is important that this is now implemented quickly and that new things are not constantly being discussed," said the FDP politician of the Funke media group.

Citizens waited for the ticket.

The aim is to introduce it as quickly as possible in the coming year.

However, the exact start date is still unclear.

Lower Saxony's Transport Minister Olaf Lies (SPD), for example, assumes that the ticket will certainly not start before March 1st and rather on April 1st.

According to the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), the introduction could be delayed even further.

"The start date will be May 1st," said VDV general manager Oliver Wolff of the

.

It is not possible much earlier.

There is still a lot to do before everything is administratively settled.

He cited the tariff approval process as an example.

In addition, the tariff systems of the transport associations would have to be changed.

Deutschlandticket: The federal and state governments are arguing about financing

Another bone of contention between associations, the federal government and the states is the financing of public transport and the Deutschlandticket.

The states want significantly more money from the federal government.

They refer to the expected loss of income because of the 49-euro ticket and the sharp rise in energy costs.

Against this background, they also warn against restrictions on the public transport service and argue that public transport must be expanded significantly in order to achieve a traffic turnaround. 

The taxpayers' association, on the other hand, called on the federal government to forego federal subsidies for the ticket and leave the financing to the states.

It is wrong to pump billions into a subsidized, nationwide ticket, said association president Reiner Holznagel of the

Regional transport, like financing, is a matter for the federal states.

“They could also handle that financially.” While the federal government is sitting on a minus of 100 billion euros, the federal states have a plus of 24 billion euros.

“They regard transport policy as their sovereignty, except when it comes to financing – then the federal government should step in.”