Germany's low-cost transit ticket scores highly in green credits

BERLIN • Germany's three-month experiment with super-cheap public transport has helped the country reduce carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to powering about 350,000 homes for a year.

The €9 (S$12.60) monthly ticket, which allows nationwide travel on regional trains, subways, trams and buses, prevented 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions because commuters did not use their cars as much, according to the VDV public transport lobby.

The ticket - which took effect in June and runs out at the end of this month - is meant to help soften the blow from inflation in Europe's biggest economy amid a surge in energy and fuel prices sparked by the war in Ukraine.

While there are concerns over financing the ticket and strains on the transport network, several German politicians want the subsidy extended in some form.

"We must find a convincing follow-up solution for a nationwide local transport ticket to continue to relieve the citizens who depend on it in times of rising prices and costs," Ms Petra Berg, Environment and Mobility Minister in the western state of Saarland, said in a statement.

About one billion trips per month were made while the measure was in place, according to VDV on Monday.

About 52 million of the train tickets had been sold, with one in 10 buyers ditching at least one daily auto trips, it said.

The group cited the results of a government-commissioned survey of 78,000 people it conducted with Deutsche Bahn and polling institutes Forsa and RC Research.

A successor to the wildly popular ticket has been the subject of disagreement among the ruling coalition parties.

Several German states have put forward regional plans, and the capital Berlin has announced that it will extend the ticket citywide.

A third relief package the ruling Social Democrats are proposing would include a similar ticket but with a less heavily discounted price tag of €49 a month, according to a draft proposal.

Despite the positive impact of the €9 ticket, Germany's transport sector has been blamed for falling short of environmental targets by about three million tonnes of CO2 last year, adding pressure on the government to find more ways to trim emissions.

One hotly contested step would be to impose a speed limit on the Autobahn, but Transport Minister Volker Wissing reaffirmed the ruling coalition's rejection of the move, even as the country suffers an energy squeeze.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday, Mr Wissing said the step would be socially divisive at a time when Germany needs solidarity.

BLOOMBERG