Germany’s Finance Minister Christian Lindner does not want to pay for a prolongation of the 9 Euro ticket. He made clear the federal budget could not cover the required funds. It is still unclear whether the popular ticket will have a successor or not.
Berlin, July 23rd, 2022 (The Berlin Spectator) — Recently, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ government in Berlin reimbursed citizens for the skyrocketing energy costs. They got a gasoline rebate and a 9 Euro Ticket. Billions were invested. Both measures were intended to end after three months, at the end of August, and they still are. But there are demands for a prolongation of the ticket, or a successor.
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Debt Brake
Finance Minister Christian Lindner just expressed his opinion on this question. There would not be funds for a prolongation from the fedferal budget, he stated. “The 9 Euro Ticket is a temporarty measure, just like the gasoline rebate”, he said in an interview with the Funke Mediengruppe publishing house which owns several newspapers. “That is why the budget does not include a continuation of the gasoline rebate or a follow-up regulation for the 9 Euro Ticket.”
Lindner said Germany would go back to adhering to its debt brake in 2023. Besides, the 9 Euro Ticket was not convincing, also because it was co-financed by people who lived in rural areas and could not really use it for that reason. Christian Lindner is the chairman of the center-right Free Democrats (FDP) who are part of Olaf Scholz’ government coalition. So is Transport Minister Volker Wissing.
69 Euro Ticket
On Tuesday, Wissing told the ‘Spiegel’ magazine, a successor for the 9 Euro Ticket at the end of this year or in early 2023 was a possibility. A day later, on Wednesday, he was interviewed in the ARD show ‘Morgenmagazin’. In this case, he said the public transport and the fares charged were the responsibility of the federal states. They needed to decide how they wanted to fund any successor for the ticket.
In the past days, a 69 Euro Ticket was proposed. Also there are more and more calls for a prolongation of the 9 Euro Ticket. The latter can still be purchased for the remainder of July and for August. Holders can used it for the public transport in any German city or region as well as for regional trains. Trips on Deutsche Bahn’s ICE bullet train or the slightly slower IC are not included.
Nationwide Travel
For now, anyone can use the 9 Euro Ticket to travel to any destination in Germany, on regional trains. In order to piece together a trip, travelers can go to bahn.com/en. Where it says “Timetable & Booking”, they can type in the origin of their trip and their destination. The box next to “Local transport only” should be checked. By clicking “Search” and “Further Information”, users can view the details, including information on where and when they need to change trains. The link “Show Details” will show them whether the 9 Euro Ticket is valid on the trip they chose.
See all articles on the 9 Euro Ticket by clicking here.
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