The city of Leipzig is set to gradually phase in a 365-euro annual ticket for the city’s local public transport. The 365-euro ticket has been in the pipeline for years and was a major issue in the city’s mayoral elections last year.
The most populous city in the state of Saxony will start to introduce a 365-euro ticket for the city’s public transport services from August. Leipzig’s city council decided on Wednesday, that, from August 1, anyone in possession of a Leipzig Pass would only pay 365 euros per year to use the city’s public transport system.
The 365-euro ticket will then be made available from January 1, 2022, and will be offered to people under the age of 27. The ticket will be trialled for one year in a model project to strengthen the local public transport, which will be funded by the Federal Ministry for Transport. After the trial period, a decision will be made as to whether the ticket will be made permanently available.
The 365-euro ticket has been a topic of discussion for years now, and it was a major point in the city’s mayoral campaigns last year. However, due to coronavirus in Germany, and a subsequent lack of money, not least due to plummeting public transport revenues, the wider introduction of a 365-euro ticket is still a long way off. "I wanted more than the first steps we are starting today," said Mayor Burkhard Jung (SPD).
Jung explained that the ticket is a socio-political measure, combined with an environmental policy approach. Around 55.000 people on low incomes are currently in possession of the Leipzig Pass, and pay around 35 euros for the monthly pass.