Car toll and general levy could help Germany close public transport's financing gap – report
Clean Energy Wire
Germany could raise a car toll and a levy on people who benefit from public transport even if they do not use it to finance the transformation and expansion of local public transport systems, think tanks Agora Verkehrswende and Dezernat Zukunft said in a joint report.
The country will have to invest heavily in its public transport infrastructure: Financing needs are set to rise from today’s 44 billion euros to 59 billion in 2030 and 74 billion in 2035, the authors calculated. To cover this, Germany’s government would need to create new revenue streams in addition to ticket revenues and public funds, they concluded.
The government could explore introducing a mileage-based car toll to co-finance the expansion of public transport, the authors suggested. In addition, financial contributions from groups that indirectly benefit from efficient public transport services could also generate new revenues, they said. The authors said that it could be justified to involve third parties because they benefit from effective public transport services that relieve the burden on roads.
According to the report, it is unlikely that Germany can raise the hundreds of billions of euros needed for a sustainable transport sector transformation by 2030, despite billions in funding planned from a special infrastructure fund. “Beyond the special fund, it is still unclear how the federal government intends to gear the transport system towards the future,” the think tanks wrote.
“It is high time for a fresh start in the financing of the transport system,” said Wiebke Zimmer, deputy director at Agora Verkehrswende. The think tanks expect public funding needs for local public transport, motorways, and the automotive industry to reach 390 billion euros by 2030.
Germany agreed to a debt-financed special fund worth 500 billion euros for a wide range of infrastructure and climate neutrality projects over the next decade. Transport minister Patrick Schnieder has also promised a fresh start for the country’s dilapidated railway system. The country’s transport sector has remained a laggard in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
