We have been talking about it for about fifteen years, but now the transport revolution in Austria is finally a reality: from 1st October the pre-sale begins and from 26th October it will finally be possible to travel throughout the country with the klimaticket, i.e. a single ticket that is valid for all means of public transport, local and national, at a cost of 949 euros per year for adults and 699 euros (-25%) for under 26s, disabled and elderly people over 65. For families with children aged 6 to 15, with an extra 110 euros, the ticket can be extended and is valid for up to 4 children, always unlimited and always for one year. The price is initially promotional to test the intentions of citizens: subsequently, an adult season ticket will be purchased for 1.095 euros for 12 months, which will become 821 euros for young, elderly and disabled people. It is a real revolution, which as the name already reveals, "climate ticket", has as its objective the ecological transition and the achievement of the decarbonisation objectives established by the Paris Agreements, starting from discouraging the use of the private car .
It couldn't have been better than this: with a single ticket, although perhaps not accessible to everyone but in hindsight cheaper than the annual cost of a car, you can travel on the entire railway, tramway, underground network, as well as obviously on buses and trolleybuses. “Every km traveled on public transport helps the climate,” said the Austrian Minister for Ecological Transition, Leonore Gewessler, with satisfaction. The government has allocated 96 million euros for this project this year, which will become 150 million in 2022. The announced goal is to reach 100.000 season-ticket holders, convincing them to prefer public transport with this truly all-inclusive formula, without exceptions. neither wasting time making different tickets each time, nor unexpected expenses. Greenpeace also applauds the initiative: "With around a third of national CO₂ emissions, transport is the biggest problem for climate protection in Austria", points out the association in a statement.
In truth however, at the moment not the entire Austrian territory will be covered by the climate ticket: surprisingly and amid much controversy, the capital Vienna is missing, even though it has been a European example of virtuous urban planning for decades, between cycle paths, green areas and pedestrianization of the streets in the center, in particular the famous Kärntnerstraße. In addition to the capital, the government has yet to close the agreement with the regions of Lower Austria and Burgenland, but negotiations appear to be well underway. “To date however – explains the ministry on its website – the klimaticket covers 90% of public transport outside Vienna“. The formula, moreover, is more than advantageous and should have no difficulty in convincing many citizens.
To give a couple of examples, today a 40-year-old commuter who takes the train from Bruck to Graz every day to go to work spends more than 1.600 euros a year, which with the new solution will become 949 or 1.095. An elderly woman from Linz who regularly goes on excursions throughout Austria with her friends, today has to subscribe to the ÖBB-Österreichcard 2nd class and the annual Linz season ticket, for a total of 1.648 euros: with the klimaticket save almost 1.000 euros. "Public transport has never been so easy and so cheap", says the environmental minister. But with a pandemic still underway, how many will really give up their comfortable and very personal car?
