Enlarge image
Tram in Stuttgart: City employees will soon be able to use local buses and trains free of charge – throughout Germany
Photo: Bernd Weißbrod / picture alliance / dpa
All employees of the city of Stuttgart should receive the planned Germany ticket free of charge.
As the Baden-Württemberg state capital announced, the municipal council voted in favor of this proposal by Mayor Frank Nopper (CDU) on Thursday.
After the start of the 49-euro ticket, all employees of the city administration, in-house operations and day-care centers should be able to use local public transport throughout Germany - the city will bear the costs.
"We want to become even more attractive as an employer with this extremely strong offer in times of a shortage of skilled workers and make an important contribution to the switch to local public transport," explained Nopper.
In contrast to an employer allowance, the free public transport ticket is even tax-free.
This means that it “receives in full from our workforce”.
According to the information, the city of Stuttgart wants to provide 8.8 million euros annually for the free 49-euro ticket.
The city would like to absorb possible price adjustments so that the ticket remains free of charge for employees in the future.
The planned 49-euro ticket should be valid for local transport throughout Germany.
It follows the delayed nine-euro ticket that was available last summer as a three-month relief measure because of the high energy prices.
It was originally supposed to be introduced at the turn of the year, but the start was postponed several times.
Many employers are also likely to make the ticket available to their employees free of charge or at a reduced price: after all, the ticket costs no more than the usual monthly rent for a car parking space, which many companies offer their employees free of charge or at a heavily subsidized rate.
Minister: Nationwide job ticket conceivable
There could be a discount on job tickets for the 49-euro monthly ticket, said North Rhine-Westphalia's Transport Minister Oliver Krischer (Greens), as Chairman of the Transport Ministers' Conference of the federal states.
The federal and state governments are currently discussing their own regulations for job tickets.
Companies could then offer their employees the ticket at a reduced price if they share in the costs - a model that is already established in many places for the previous local transport subscriptions.
"That would be highly attractive for companies and their employees," said Krischer.
"Only the countries decide on further discounts, for example for students and trainees with the Germany ticket, which then have to bear the costs themselves." According to Krischer, the Germany ticket will probably start on May 1st.
The general works council head of the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Regio, Ralf Damde, is also demanding a free 49-euro ticket for all Deutsche Bahn employees.
"We expect that the employees will be given the 49-euro ticket free of charge when it is introduced," said Damde on Wednesday.
He addressed this demand to Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP).
From the point of view of the chairman of the general works council, the federal government must finance this measure.
Damde compared the free 49-euro ticket for rail employees with the opportunity for soldiers in the Bundeswehr to use regional and long-distance transport free of charge.
"That would be a sign of appreciation for the achievements of colleagues on the part of the legislature," said Damde.
Attacks by passengers, a high level of sick leave, shifts that are difficult to plan and numerous weekend shifts are currently leading to an overload of employees.
"We have now named the problems and now the state is required," emphasized the head of the works council.
nis/AFP/dpa
