Hundreds of Frankfurt residents swap cars for free public transport
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung / Clean Energy Wire
Hundreds of residents of the German city of Frankfurt have made use of a scheme offering free public transport for one year in exchange for deregistering their car, according to figures seen by newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The scheme provides users with a free countrywide ‘Germany Ticket’ and was used nearly 750 times so far, the report said.
The policy motivates people to switch from cars to public transport, the city said following an evaluation after the first year of the programme, introduced in 2024. The premium applies to every adult living in Frankfurt who has sold or scrapped their car in the five months prior to applying. Recipients are not allowed to buy a new car for twelve months. The scheme was most popular among people aged 56 to 65. Almost two-thirds of applicants came from two-person or single households, and it was particularly popular among individuals with lower incomes, the data showed.
The municipality said the premium is also having visible long-term effects. Two thirds of users gave up their car entirely after receiving the premium and another third got rid of their second car. “Overall, car use is going down markedly and in a sustainable way,” said Tom Reinhold, managing director of the city’s public transport authority traffiQ.
The city emphasised that the scheme reduced CO2-emissions, increased parking space, and had economic benefits. The scheme cost 400,000 euros in the first year, but is likely to generate 80,000 euros per year in the future because people using it were likely to buy an annual public transport ticket, Reinhold said.
Germany’s transport sector is lagging behind when it comes to emission reductions, as it has repeatedly missed reduction targets. The sector is responsible for 22 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The Germany Ticket, a flat-rate ticket for regional and local travel, introduced in 2023, has been credited with increasing mobility rates and reducing transport emissions.