According to the German Association of Cities, the municipalities still have a lot of work to do before the 49-euro ticket is finally introduced. "The implementation in the regions and cities will be a hard piece of work, because the tariff system and the sale of tickets will be completely reorganized. And the federal government must quickly ensure that the approvals under European law are obtained," said CEO Helmut Dedy of the Funke media group (Friday ).
The nationwide usable ticket for buses and trains in local transport should come with an introductory price of 49 euros per month. The goal is to build on the popular 9-euro ticket from the summer.
Scholz: Deutschlandticket will come quickly
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said after a prime ministers' conference yesterday evening: "The Deutschlandticket will come now, and very quickly too. We have now removed all the hurdles so that those responsible in the federal states and the transport companies can now do everything they can to ensure that also moving quickly and swiftly."
The chairman of the conference of prime ministers, Stephan Weil (SPD) from Lower Saxony, explained that any additional costs incurred by companies in 2023 should be borne equally by the federal and state governments. In the following years, it should then be agreed together how the financing can be secured.
Dedy said the agreement between the federal and state governments provides planning security to introduce the ticket as soon as possible. It is good news for customers. "Even if nobody currently knows how many people will buy the ticket, the costs are expected to add up to more than four billion euros in the coming year."
The German Association of Towns and Municipalities emphasized that, in view of the rising energy prices, it had long been obvious that the three billion euros agreed for financing in the autumn were not sufficient. "Neither the transport companies nor their sponsors, the municipalities, can cope with additional burdens in these times. That's why it's good that the federal and state governments have agreed to bear half the costs, at least for the year 2023," said CEO Gerd Landsberg the "Rheinische Post".
Starting point has not yet been determined
It is still unclear when exactly the ticket will be available in the coming year. Weil made it clear yesterday that countries are targeting a start by the end of the first quarter of 2023. It shouldn't be "a summer issue".
Berlin's Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey does not expect the Deutschlandticket to be introduced in April as originally planned. "It looks like it will probably be May, but that now depends on the negotiations. I very much hope that it will work," said the SPD politician after the federal-state meeting on the program "RTL direct ".
