Topic not buried yet?: Transport Minister Bilger thinks flexible Germany ticket is an “exciting idea”

The proposal for a Germany ticket for occasional drivers finds a prominent advocate in the federal government: Federal Transport Minister Bilger is open to a nationwide local transport ticket where passengers can check in and out via smartphone. However, others are slowing down.

Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger from the CDU supports the idea of ​​introducing a new ticket for occasional users of public transport throughout Germany. “The Deutschlandticket for occasional drivers is an exciting idea. Because easy access to bus and train services is important,” he told the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”. Digitalization could create new opportunities for this. The chairman of the Conference of Transport Ministers, Christian Bernreiter from the CSU, continues to reject the nationwide ticket for occasional drivers for cost reasons.

The transport ministers of the federal states removed a corresponding initiative from North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg from the agenda at their most recent conference. However, Bilger emphasized that the issue had simply been "postponed until the next conference of transport ministers". There are now questions to be clarified about the financial impact and the concrete implementation.

NRW and Hamburg are proposing an "in/out tariff" using an app: passengers check in and out again using their smartphone - at a uniform nationwide tariff. According to NRW Transport Minister Oliver Krischer from the Green Party, this is not only more convenient for passengers, but from his point of view it also helps to reduce costs. This is already being practiced successfully in North Rhine-Westphalia and, unlike the Deutschlandticket - the nationwide monthly ticket for local public transport - there are no additional costs.

“We can’t continue to drain money from the system.”

The Pro Bahn passenger association also supports the initiative. The association believes that even people who rarely use buses and trains should be able to benefit from cheaper prices and be motivated to switch from cars.

The chairman of the Conference of Transport Ministers, Bavaria's Transport Minister Bernreiter, rejects "the introduction of the Deutschlandticket light". “It is currently not the time to introduce new discounted tickets,” he told the “Rheinische Post”. In his opinion, such a new ticket would alienate customers of the current Germany ticket. "Then many subscribers would drop out and say, I'm unsubscribing. We can't continue to withdraw money from the system," emphasized Bernreiter.