The funds allocated for the introduction of the Deutschlandticket are not enough

The 3 billion euros allocated by the German federal government and the federal states to introduce the so-called Deutschlandticket, the successor to the hugely popular 9-euro ticket, may not be enough to cover the costs. Railway Supply magazine writes about this with reference to RailTech.

The managing director of the local transport association RMV, Knut Ringat, claims that the current budget does not take into account the cost of introducing the Deutschlandticket, which has already been called a 49-euro ticket after its new price.

According to experts, another 1.5 billion euros must be added to the so-called regionalization fund, which the federal government uses to help the federal states finance local transport. Plus, due to the jump in energy prices, an additional fee of 1.6 billion euros will be required. In total, a 49-euro ticket will cost 6.1 billion euros.

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That is well spent money if the ticket sells in the tens of millions, like a 9-euro ticket. However, this remains to be seen. According to a survey conducted by the INSA Institute for the German tabloid BILD, about 46% of those polled said they would not buy a new 49-euro ticket. Another 26% of those surveyed said they had not made a decision yet, leading BILD to conclude that a failure is brewing.

According to the tabloid, the uncertainty surrounding the funding of the new initiative, as well as the lack of knowledge of where and when the 49-euro ticket will be available. Some argue that adding long-distance buses to the program would help. And the German bus operator FlixBus has already launched a campaign to achieve this goal.

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