Its purpose is to promote its use, attract new customers and reward those who use them regularly.
The Bundesrat, the German upper house, today approved a package of measures to relieve citizens from high inflation and the sharp rise in energy and fuel prices, formulated by the federal government. Among them stands out the introduction of the single monthly subscription for a price of 9 euros that allows citizens to use all the municipal and regional public transport in the country. The ticket is valid for travel on regional, urban and commuter trains, metros, trams, buses, funiculars, funiculars and ferries offering regular public services from June 1 and for a period of three months until August 31.
The aim of the measure is to attract new customers for increasingly ecological transport, motivate motorists to give up the use of their vehicle and financially relieve the millions of people who use them every day to go to work or study. The monthly ticket for all public transport in Berlin costs 86 euros. Customers who have already paid for their subscription for the three months of this summer will receive a refund from the various companies. The Bundestag, the German parliament, had already given the green light for the bill last night. The stumbling block to be overcome was the upper house or the representation of the «Länder», who bear a large part of the costs of the experiment.
While most regional prime ministers praised the Berlin government’s initiative, there has been criticism that there are no plans for the future of this project when it is completed on August 31, as indicated by the head of the Hessian government, Volker Bouffier. , while the head of Brandenburg transport, Guido Beermann, deplored the hasty nature of the measure and warned that it will be Berlin that will bear the additional costs associated with the issuance of these fertilizers and the sharp drop in revenues. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing, on the other hand, said the €9 ticket represents a “huge opportunity” for climate-friendly mobility.
Also praise the initiative of environmental organizations, which form a powerful pressure group in this country. The Federation for the Environment and Defense of Nature (BUND) celebrated the introduction of cheap fertilizers for what it means to reduce pollution, but at the same time demanded that public transport be expanded significantly. “With the 9 euro ticket, there will be no more buses in rural areas,” says BUND transport expert Jens Hilgenberg. The pass allows you to traverse Germany from one end to the other in this type of transport, albeit with patience, the willingness to make countless transfers and a great spirit of adventure. A journey from Munich to the Baltic coast takes a minimum of 18 hours, triple that of long-distance trains.
The German upper house also approved other measures to help the population in the face of high inflation, such as the abolition of the ecological tax on electricity that will reduce consumption or additional economic support for the most disadvantaged.
Source: La Verdad
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