BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The transport companies have proposed June 1 to Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) for the start of the 9-euro monthly ticket. By then, the conditions for the introduction could be created, said the President of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), Ingo Wortmann, the partner newspapers of the new Berlin editorial company (Monday). Wortmann suggested that the ticket should also be available from machines and not just online. “We are finding that a large number of passengers are still buying from machines,” he said. This applies in particular to older customers.
The leaders of the SPD, Greens and FDP decided the week before last that a ticket for local public transport (PNV) for 9 euros per month should be introduced for 90 days so that drivers can change in view of the high fuel prices. However, many questions about implementation remain unanswered. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) has spoken out in favor of making the ticket available exclusively online in order to avoid the expense of reprogramming ticket machines.
The transport companies were surprised by the idea of cheap tickets, said Wortmann. “We would have wished that these proposals would be discussed with us in order to find a practicable way,” said the association’s president. “We’re now simply trying to make the best of it. Because we don’t want the idea, which is good in itself, to end up being negatively received.”/ah/DP/nas