The Green Party Saarland misses a clear direction from the Minister-President on the further development of public transport, especially regarding the fare reform. While Anke Rehlinger still made a 365-euro ticket one of her central announcements in the election program, Saarland now supposedly has no money left for a fare reform of public transport, according to the Minister-President. Currently, the Green Party Saarland fears that the successor to the popular and simple 9-euro ticket could fail due to Saarland's blocking stance.
According to the SPD government program, investments in local public transport are to total two billion euros over the next 10 years. In addition to federal subsidies and regionalization funds, state funds are to be increased for this purpose. At the same time, the Minister President refuses to cover the state's share of a uniform 49-euro ticket. On this, the state chairwoman Uta Sullenberger said: "In the government program, the SPD talks about the vision of a long-term free public transport system. But with the very first step, the Minister President commits a self-revelation. This is all the more surprising because additional funds for a fare reform would come from the federal government as a result. In some cases, state funds could then also be saved elsewhere." The compensation payments for fare reform in Saarland currently amount to around 15 million euros per year, of which 10 million euros come from the state and the rest from the regionalization funds.
The state chairman of the Greens, Dr. Ralph Nonninger, acknowledges the progress made so far, for example with the Job-Ticket Plus for state employees. However, he doubts the further promises of the SPD. "If the wind is already out of this government’s sails after just a few months, how is it supposed to handle future investments in Saarland over the next four years? What is urgently needed now are clear statements not only about the willingness to shape policy but also about the ability of this state government to do so. The current tactic of slicing demands with repeated new requests to the federal government, while simultaneously admitting the lack of own room for maneuver, costs Saarland credibility," said Dr. Ralph Nonninger.
