EU & the World
Greenpeace: Most EU Public Transport Is Too Expensive
Greenpeace’s new analysis of the affordability of public transportation in 30 European countries concluded that prices are high in most places.
According to data published on Thursday (4th May), only Austria, Germany, and Hungary offer relatively affordable tickets for nationwide travel, costing less that EUR3 per day.
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The worst performers in the ranking were Bulgaria, Croatia and Greece. Dublin, London, Paris, and Amsterdam, with tickets priced above EUR2.25 a day, ranked last in the list. Amsterdam, for instance, charges EUR1,001 for a yearly pass.
Around two-thirds (or 63%) of the countries studied do not offer any countrywide long-term travel pass. The report also targets taxes on public transportation, which average 11 percent VAT and are “higher than most basic services.”
Six EU countries, including Romania Bulgaria, Estonia, Slovakia Croatia and Hungary, tax public transport at a high rate, with Hungary leading at 27 percent.
“Affordable transport is a necessity but many governments treat this like a luxury,” said Greenpeace EU Transport Campaigner Lorelei Limousin.
She points out the fact that kerosene and cross-border airline tickets do not have to pay VAT. The report concludes that removing VAT from bus and train tickets will encourage people to drive less. However, Limousin says more needs to be accomplished.
The analysis comes just days after the new low-cost national travel cards for Germany and Hungary came into force on 1 May. The “Deutschlandticket” offers a monthly EUR49 ticket to use local and regional public transportation. According to the German Transit Authority, one billion trips are made per month under the scheme. One in five buyers of the scheme is a first-time traveller who does not normally use public transportation.
Market research shows that about half of the population used the cheaper tickets.
Last month, German Transport Minister Volker Wissing expressed support for an affordable pan-European ticket. Greenpeace also supports this proposal and has asked the European Commission to help facilitate the introduction of such a ticket in the near future.
Limousin said that governments should introduce ‘climate tickets,’ simple and affordable, for public transport to reduce people’s bills while reducing the oil consumption that is driving our planet into climate disaster. These services could be paid for by taxing polluting travel methods and ending tax exemptions for international flight and aviation fuel.
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