The city of Karlsruhe is facing new financial challenges. The successor to the 9 Euro ticket is the 49 Euro ticket and is financed by the federal and state governments. Many municipalities were nevertheless concerned: a cheaper fare means that the money that is not collected is missing elsewhere – savings would have to be made on the modernization of the route network and the expansion of the transport turnaround if the costs cannot be covered by ticket revenues.
The 49 euro ticket also competes with local fare structures, which must now be discarded or redesigned. In a response from Mayor Mentrup to an open letter from the city council group Freie Wähler and FÜR Karlsruhe, it says that “the introduction of the Deutschlandticket will in all likelihood have a significant impact on KVV sales figures, as almost the entire existing subscription range will be undermined in terms of price by the Deutschlandticket.”
The city council group Freie Wählern and FÜR Karlsruhe sees both sides of the coin: “We see a simplification and standardization of the tariff tangle as positive. It will now be easier for public transportation users to navigate fare structures. However, we need financial support from the federal government if investments in the expansion of the transport turnaround and the modernization of the transport network are not to be thwarted. The 49 Euro ticket is a gift from the federal politicians to the citizens, but not every municipality can foot the bill for the gift,” says parliamentary group chairman Friedemann Kalmbach.
