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PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Could this year’s budget reduce Denmark’s train and bus fares?

A left-wing party and key ally to the government says it wants major reductions to the cost of public transportation.

Could this year’s budget reduce Denmark’s train and bus fares?
Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix

The Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) wants cheaper fares to be introduced by the new year.

The party, one of three parliamentary allies propping up the Social Democratic government, is to demand a reduction of as much as 30 percent to ticket prices in negotiations over the coming budget.

“One of our demands will be for (cheaper prices) to be noticeable when taking a bus or train after January 1st. So the price must be reduced significantly,” Red-Greed Alliance lead spokesperson Pernille Skipper said.

“It is currently possible to travel to London by plane for less than the price of a train ticket from Aalborg to Copenhagen, and that is completely idiotic if you want to be climate-conscious,” she added.

Asked whether the Red-Green Alliance would refuse to back a budget that did not include cheaper prices for public transport passengers, Skipper said that “you should never make ultimate demands in politics”.

Cheaper bus and train fares to the extent advocated by Red Green Alliance could cost the state up to 1.3 billion kroner, the party estimates. An additional 900 million kroner should be invested in new buses and trains, the group proposes.

Those costs would be covered by increased taxation of capital and shares as part of income taxes. Such a plan would increase state income by 5.3 billion kroner annually, the left wing party says, citing Tax Ministry figures.

Social Democrat finance spokesperson Christian Rabjerg Madsen said the government would not assess any budget proposals until the parties are sat at the negotiating table.

“It is clear that the government has obliged itself to make a historically ambitious effort to reach our climate targets. As such, it is crucial that we improve public transportation,” Madsen said.

The government is scheduled to present its proposed budget on October 2nd before parties negotiate a final deal. These are generally passed by parliament in December.

READ ALSO: 'Make it more affordable': What The Local readers think of Denmark's public transportation system

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PUBLIC TRANSPORT

1-2-3 Ticket: Austria’s nationwide unlimited rail pass available from October

After several years of waiting, Austria's nationwide unlimited rail pass - now renamed the Klimaticket (climate ticket) - will be available from October, although some states have yet to sign up.

1-2-3 Ticket: Austria's nationwide unlimited rail pass available from October
A person boards a subway train in the Austrian city of Vienna. Photo by Samuel-Elias Nadler on Unsplash

Austria’s much awaited ‘1-2-3 Ticket’ – which gives unlimited travel across the entire country – will be valid for travel from Austrian National Day on October 26th onwards.

The idea behind the 1-2-3 ticket is that Austrian residents can choose to pay one euro per day for unlimited public transport in their own state, two euros per day for travel in two neighbouring states or three euros per day to travel throughout Austria. 

The ticket has been renamed the Klimaticket – meaning climate ticket – to highlight the positive environmental outcomes associated with rail travel. 

The ticket has been repeatedly delayed due to disputes over costs and the suitability of particular routes, however these look now to be settled.

The official announcement was made on Wednesday, with Austria’s Kronen Zeitung newspaper saying Austria chipped in an additional 100 million euros to make the project work.

How much will it cost? 

The ticket for the whole of Austria – including all nine states – will cost 1095 euros per year, although it will go on sale for an introductory price of 949 euros annually from October 1st.

Senior citizens and people under the age of 26 will only have to pay 821 euros per year – or 699 euros if they buy the ticket before October 26th. 

For those who want to travel through two states, it will cost 730 euros, while travel through one state will be 365 euros annually.

The 365 euro ticket has been in place for some time in the state of Vienna and has won International acclaim.

READ MORE: What is the 1-2-3-ticket? Everything you need to know about the new ticket planned to give unlimited public transport across Austria

Which types of travel are included – and which states are part of the plan? 

When it is launched, the ticket will be valid for all types of travel in Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, including buses, trains, long-distance trains (i.e. ÖBB) and trams. 

Three eastern states – Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland – are however still holding out on the project. 

As it stands, ÖBB travel in these states as well as bus travel and S-Bahn services will be included in the ticket, along with travel on services operated by Wiener Linien. 

Other forms of regional and local transport will not be included in these three states. 

Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler said she was confident the other three states would sign up. 

“We’ll make it there as well, I’m certain” she said. 

“You really get a hell of a lot for your money.”

Why are these three states holding out? 

Broadcaster ORF says the fact that no solution has yet been found is also due to the resistance of the federal state of Burgenland.

The complaint relates to the fact that the ticket would dramatically increase the cost of travelling from Burgenland to Vienna, which is a relatively common commuter trip. 

As travelling from Burgenland to Vienna involves crossing Lower Austria, the price of a season ticket from Neudörfl to Vienna, for example, which currently costs 730 euros, would increase to 1,095 euros per year under the new scheme.

An estimated 25,000 people commute regularly from Burgenland to Vienna, based on pre-pandemic numbers

Transport authorities are pushing for Lower Austria and Burgenland to be treated as one state for the purposes of the pass, Der Standard reports, thereby allowing for a reduction in the cost for commuters. 

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