The President of the German District Association, Reinhard Sager, considers the 49-euro monthly ticket for regional transport and the planned start on May 1st to be a bad idea.

"First of all, there will be bumps all over Germany," said the CDU politician to the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (Monday). "Every corner will have to be improved." Instead of primarily investing in a better local transport service, politicians are racking their brains about how the ticket service is to be financed. "This is an absurd situation that politics has brought us into."

A cheap ticket does not solve the problems of local public transport. "That was the mistake of the 9-euro ticket. What use is a 9-euro ticket for a bus that doesn't run?" Said Sager. "Now we're trying a 49-euro ticket. But the bus still doesn't run in many areas."

The federal and state governments had agreed on Friday to start the 49-euro ticket on May 1st. With the subscription, holders should be able to travel in regional buses and trains throughout Germany - for 49 euros a month. The subscription is the successor to the 9-euro ticket from last summer, which also enabled nationwide journeys on public transport.