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Cheap public transport: What good is a 365 Euro annual ticket?

2019-09-07T06:04:37.716Z


In September, the federal government wants to decide by which means it wants to curb CO2 emissions in Germany. The 365 Euro ticket could be part of it. It is however controversial.



The number 365 currently electrifies many politicians. So many euros will pay passengers in the future, to use the public transport in German cities and towns for a year. This is what the SPD climate experts have proposed in the Bundestag this week. Representatives of other parties have already spoken out for the idea.

The 365-euro ticket is intended to help solve one of the biggest problems of German climate policy: while emissions, for example, due to wind and solar energy, are falling in electricity generation, they are increasing in the transport sector.

According to the German Federal Environment Agency, in 2017, cars emitted 0.5 percent more carbon dioxide in Germany than in 1995. Trucks even produced 20 percent more of the climate-damaging greenhouse gas. The vehicles have become cleaner and more economical. But as traffic increases, emissions increase or remain constant.

If it gets cheaper, the number of passengers will increase

Lower bus and rail prices could make commuters stop their cars. On 20 September, the federal government wants to decide by which means it wants to curb CO2 emissions in Germany. The 365 Euro ticket could be part of it. It is however controversial.

"We want everyone to be able to travel anywhere by bus and train at affordable prices, whether in the city or in the countryside," the SPD environmental politicians justify their move. Thus, the policy "could shift the flow of traffic to modes of transport with lower greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption".

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The idea basically offers opportunities, transport experts confirm. "In general, people are responding to price reductions in local traffic," says public transport specialist Thomas Bruns, co-CEO of the consulting firm BBA. If it gets cheaper, the number of passengers grows - this simple calculation goes in principle, even if it is difficult to predict how strong the effect will be in individual cases.

The opposite of the desired

The ticket has another advantage, says traffic researcher Andreas Knie of the Social Science Research Center Berlin. "It's a good idea, because then the price is easy to understand." One Euro a day - that's cheap, lights up directly and makes the public transport immediately more attractive. So the ticket could make a difference quickly.

Go on, just do it, do not lose any time? Something is more complicated then. A badly made 365 Euro ticket could do the opposite of the desired.

The greatest concern of the experts: Buses and trains are already crowded in the morning and in the afternoon in many places. Coming through a cheap annual ticket and only a few percent more passengers added, threatens chaos.

Vienna as a shining example - or not?

"Previously, public transport companies need to increase capacity so that buses and trains can handle the growing commuter flows," says consultant Bruns. Otherwise, local traffic could suffer more than profit - when potential customers perceive it as a cheap and inferior transport system.

Some German cities like Bonn or Reutlingen are already experimenting with the 365 Euro ticket, but Vienna is a prime example. The Austrian capital has introduced the ticket 2012 and has since been a shining example of cheap local transport. Above all, experts praise how meticulously the city has prepared the price reduction in the long term - by acquiring additional buses and trams and imposing stricter parking rules on motorists.

Public transport may even owe more than the 365 Euro ticket itself to these measures. Before 2012, the share of buses and trains in total traffic had grown continuously from 29 to 37 percent. After 2012, it increased in the short term from 37 to 39 percent, but has since fallen back to 38 percent.

Industry warns of billions

In Vienna, the ticket also tore a comparatively small hole in the cash register. Its introduction corresponded to a price reduction of a moderate 20 percent, previously cost the annual ticket a good 450 euros. In many German cities are much higher revenue losses in the room. The annual subscription in Hamburg currently costs 1074 euros, in Berlin 761 euros and in Munich 750 euros (these exemplarily selected tickets cover areas of different sizes).

Approximately 13 billion euros in revenue would break the public transport companies per year, calculates the Association of German Transport (VDV) before. On top of that, they would have to put a lot of money into expanding their offerings. That's why the industry, which should benefit, rejects the ticket. Too uncertain to her appears that the state closes the financial gap. Some providers even threaten insolvency because of the complicated billing procedures, according to consultants.

SPD in Hamburg against 365 Euro ticket

All too insecure - the radical idea of ​​a 365-euro ticket is apparently incompatible with the customs of the public transport industry. The actors involved are not pulling. Traffic managers want to classically improve the offer, expand the route network, shorten the cycle - but rather not lower prices.

"Market research shows that price is not the top priority, but quality, safety, convenience, punctuality," says the head of Hamburger Hochbahn AG, Henrik Falk. An annual ticket reduced to the price of 365 euros does not deem Falk to be expedient. The own car is always more expensive than a monthly ticket anyway.

And because the voice of the industry in politics has weight, it should probably go slowly at best with the 365-euro ticket in Germany at best. Even if - intelligently - it can be a good idea. Ironically, the red-green-ruled Hamburg has already more or less officially adopted by the project - by resolution at the SPD party congress.

Source: spiegel

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