A German government’s minister-president, Markus Söder of the Christian Social Union (CSU), has announced a comprehensive concept for financing the Deutschlandticket, a nationwide public transportation ticket, under a potential future government led by the Union.
Söder stated in an interview with the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” that the next federal government, under the Union’s leadership, will find a solution for the Deutschlandticket. “The ticket is not the Bayern or Bremen ticket, it’s the Deutschlandticket. Therefore, the federal government must find a solution for how to proceed with it” he said.
The minister-president proposed increasing the commuter allowance and better federal funding for the rail network. “Unfortunately, the ticket has not led to a significantly higher usage of public transportation. Cities have profited more from it than rural areas. To balance this out, the commuter allowance should be increased additionally” Söder said. “It cannot be that Bavaria pays 400 million euros for the Deutschlandticket while the federal government underfunds the rail network it is supposed to maintain.