As of today, the transport ministers are fighting to keep the Germany ticket for 49 euros. Bavaria complains about Berlin in advance – because of a special route.
Munich/Berlin/Münster – 49 euros for local and regional transport throughout Germany: The Deutschlandticket, which has existed for around a year, was a tariff revolution. Its financing has been in jeopardy several times. It's the same now again: From Wednesday (April 17th), the transport ministers of the federal states will be discussing whether the Deutschlandticket can still be financed at 49 euros per month - or whether it has to be more expensive for passengers.
At least one person is traveling to the deliberations in Münster with anger in his stomach: Bavarian Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) is angry that Berlin is going it alone, for which the rest of Germany could ultimately pay.
Berlin buys a 29-euro ticket – Söder’s minister complains about “discounts with Bavarian money”
What is the dispute about? In Berlin there will be a 29 euro ticket available from July 1st. Berliners will be able to buy it from next week, announced Economics Senator Franziska Giffey (SPD). The Berlin Senate has agreed on this despite current austerity constraints.
The ticket was a central election promise of the SPD before the Berlin election and applies to the Berlin urban area. The Deutschlandticket, which is valid for nationwide local and regional transport, will continue to be available in Berlin for 49 euros.
Berlin basically uses Bavarian money to finance a total discount for all passengers
Bavaria's Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU)
Bavaria's Transport Minister Bernreiter sees the Berlin extra sausage of buying an additional 29 euro ticket as an injustice for the rest of the republic - and especially for Bavaria. The Free State can only maintain the Germany ticket “with a deep dig into the state treasury,” criticizes the minister in the government of Markus Söder (CSU) in the Berliner
Tagesspiegel
. Berlin, on the other hand, as the main beneficiary of the state financial equalization, “is essentially financing a total discount for all passengers with Bavarian money”.
Söder government is angry – Germany ticket in danger because of SPD election promises?
“Something like this ultimately comes at the expense of the Germany ticket,” Bernreiter continued to complain. “It is no wonder that we are thinking about reorganizing the state financial equalization.” Bavaria paid more than nine billion euros for the state financial equalization in 2023 and, as the largest donor, contributed more than half. Berlin, on the other hand, received 3.8 billion euros and is the largest recipient among the federal states.
There is criticism of the Berlin 29-euro ticket not only from Bavaria: the Federal Ministry of Transport under Volker Wissing (FDP) also condemns the Berlin special route and sees it as a danger to the Germany ticket. This is precisely intended to “radically simplify” the jungle of tariffs in Germany, said Michael Theurer, State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, to the
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. “Regional competing products such as the Berlin 29-euro ticket counteract these goals.”
Berlin SPD defends 29 euro ticket at the expense of the Germany ticket: “Berliners want that”
The Berlin SPD state and parliamentary group leader Raed Saleh, however, defended the 29 euro ticket. “Berliners want the 29-euro ticket,” he told the daily newspaper
nd
. Surveys would show this. “It would be disrespectful to just clear it away now.”
Criticism of the new Berlin ticket also comes from the Berlin Greens: “For a fraction of the money, the Germany ticket could be discounted to 29 euros for certain groups,” says the counter-suggestion from Antje Kapek, transport policy spokeswoman for the Berlin Greens.
CSU criticizes Scholz's lack of promise on Deutschlandticket
It was only in January that the transport ministers of the federal states decided that the price for the Germany-wide 49 euro ticket should remain stable. But apparently that is no longer certain: Bavaria's Transport Minister Bernreiter has now said that the decision to keep the price stable is based on a commitment from Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). He has assured that remaining funds from 2023 can be transferred to this year. This is about urgently needed money for the states and transport companies, a total of 350 million euros.
But so far the promise has not come to fruition, said the CSU politician. Bernreiter warned: “If the funds are not transferred, the Germany ticket will have to become more expensive this year, or it will even be phased out completely.”
Meanwhile, the traffic light coalition also broke another promise: it wanted to introduce new driving license rules in Germany - but failed.
(smu with material from dpa)