Words of warning: The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) expects prices to increase in local transport after the 9-euro ticket expires. The background to this is the lack of federal compensation payments, for example for higher fuel prices.
“In the medium term, we will have to transfer the missing funds to fares or limit the offer,” said VDV President Ingo Wortmann of the editorial network Germany (RND). “So ticket prices will continue to rise – not directly on September 1st, but in the next price rounds. Unfortunately, we then get into the situation where people who are already burdened have to pay more for their journeys.”
He does not assume that many people will permanently switch to buses and trains. “I see the ticket quite positively,” said Wortmann. But he doesn’t have high expectations. “All previous experiences with particularly cheap public transport show: First of all, the offer has to be right, the price is secondary.”
With the 9-euro monthly ticket, passengers can use local public transport throughout Germany in June, July and August. The tickets are part of the relief package from the traffic light coalition because of the high energy prices and should also be an incentive to continue using public transport.
According to Wortmann, the offer could lead to a charged atmosphere in the means of transport. “I don’t want to talk about chaos, but there will be a lot of full trains and buses.” This applies in particular to some connections to leisure destinations such as Sylt, the Baltic Sea coast, the Bavarian Oberland or the Chiemgau.
“When the trains are very full, there is certainly a risk of a tense atmosphere among the travelers and passengers.” “In the absolute extreme case”, attacks on employees are also possible.
