9 Euro Ticket: Extend, Edit, or Expunge?
The 9 Euro Ticket was a highly publicized discount ticket for public transportation in Germany that was introduced in the summer of 2022. The ticket provided unlimited travel on regional trains, buses, and metro services in Germany for only 9 euros per month. At a high level, the offer sought to make public transportation more accessible and affordable for people. In this context, if it could incentivize people who drove cars to work everyday to use public transportation, then that could also benefit the environment while inducing more demand in this alternative form of transportation.
The 9 Euro Ticket had a significant impact from the start, generating rapid popularity and adoption; tens of thousands of people signed up for it within the first few weeks of launch. In turn, the Ticket made public transportation more affordable for lower-income users who otherwise might have struggled to pay for these services. The effort was also popular in that it championed sustainable transportation in urban areas, specifically reducing car traffic and the emissions that come along with car use.
I personally do think that the 9 Euro Ticket should be reintroduced into Germany because of not only its popularity, but its profound impacts on creating trial and adoption of public transportation. At the same time, there exists arguments both in favor and against reintroducing this — especially at the 9 euro benchmark. In addition to the aforementioned benefits, one should also consider the pandemic and its economic implications on German residents; this offer could be a part of the aid that promotes economic recovery and growth by encouraging public transportation use. A reason for not extending the 9 Euro ticket is the cost and distortion of market forces by artificially price fixing. Some alternative ways of implementing this program is to only apply discounts to specific groups of people rather than making it nationwide. Pricing strategy is complex, but examining it through the lens of segmented pricing for different income brackets may be a way of reducing cost while still inducing demand.
My assigned party, the AfD, would be against extending the 9 Euro Ticket. Having a history of opposing social welfare programs, the party likely does not view public subsidies as necessary to induce demand. Additionally, benefiting one group at the financial expense of another would generate resistance from the AfD — which views it as immoral and unfair.
