Germany considering follow-up to 9-euro monthly transport pass - Scholz

FILE PHOTO: Rail passengers wait outside a regional train to Rostock that stopped due to overcrowding after a special nine-euro ticket, that includes the usage of local buses and trains nationwide for a month, was released by Deutsche Bahn and other transport operators, in Kratzeburg, Germany, June 4, 2022. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday called the monthly 9 euro ticket for public transport that his government introduced to help offset soaring inflation a "big success" and announced talks for a follow-up scheme.

Germany's coalition government of Scholz's Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats introduced the tickets that cover all local and regional public transport nationwide for June, July and August as part of a series of measures to help households.

The 9 euro ticket compares with 86 euros for Berlin's inner city monthly public transport fare.

FILE PHOTO: Rail passengers crowd a platform as they wait for a train to Warnemuende after a special nine-euro ticket that includes the usage of local buses and trains nationwide for a month, was released by Deutsche Bahn and other transport operators in Rostock, Germany, June 4, 2022. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

Many citizens have urged the government to continue the scheme but Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the FDP has said it would cost Germany 14 billion euros per year that would no longer be available for investments in, say, education.

The success of the ticket, though, showed many citizens simply wished for a simpler ticketing system, said Scholz at the government's open-door day.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing will check with the country's 16 states - responsible for local transport - on how "comfort, usability and maybe also affordability" could be improved in public transport, Scholz said.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Sarah Marsh; Editing by Gareth Jones)