Cost of public transport in Germany could be slashed to €1 a day to fight climate change

Justin Huggler
The proposed new ticket would be valid on the  U-Bahn trains that are Berlin's version of the London Underground - Fotolia
The proposed new ticket would be valid on the U-Bahn trains that are Berlin's version of the London Underground - Fotolia

Local public transport prices across Germany could be slashed to just €1 (90p) a day under proposals put forward by Angela Merkel’s coalition partner.

The centre-Left Social Democrats (SPD) want to cut the price of annual season tickets to just €365 (£326) as part of a bid to tackle climate change by getting more people to use public transport.

“We want everyone to be able to travel everywhere by bus and train at affordable prices, whether in the city or in the countryside,” the party said in a presentation.

The proposals are modelled on an existing scheme in the Austrian capital, Vienna, where annual season tickets cost just €365.

Michael Müller, the mayor of Berlin, has wanted a similar scheme for his city for some time, and now the SPD wants to implement it across Germany.

Berlin Public Transport Workers Strike...BERLIN - MARCH 05: Commuters wait for a train of German state railways Deutsche Bahn on the first day of a ten-day strike of workers of Berlin's city transit authority (BVG) that hits bus, tram and underground train services on March 5, 2008 in Berlin, Germany. The workers, represented through the service industry union Verdi, are striking for higher pay. Public transport in Berlin could come to a total halt starting next Monday, when commuter train (S-Bahn) drivers of the GDL train drivers? union plan to also go on strike in an unrelated dispute with Deutsche Bahn. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images) - Credit:  Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
The tickets would also be valid on the S-Bahn trains that link suburbs to German city centres Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

But the proposals are opposed by German public transport companies concerned at the loss of revenue.

The proposed new season ticket would be valid on all buses, trains and U-Bahns within a town or city, but not on long-distance transport.

An annual season ticket covering all public transport within the Berlin city limits currently costs €761 (£682) — just under half the price of an annual travelcard for Zone 1 in London, which is £1,404.

But the SPD believes it is still too high.

“Mobility is a fundamental individual right,” Sören Bartol, one of the MPs behind the proposals said. “That should be crushed under the wheels of the climate protection debate.”

The Berlin mayor’s efforts to introduce a €365 annual ticket in the city have run into heavy opposition from public transport companies.

“We have made it clear that we consider this idea the wrong approach,” Frank Wruck, a spokesman for the Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Network (VBB) said.

It is not clear whether Mrs Merkel's government will consider backing the proposals.