Cheap fares alone are not enough. Dutch-style investment, together with price cuts, could be the real game changer
After two years of Covid-driven decline in public transport use and increasing automobile traffic globally, what can governments do to entice people out of their cars? In Germany, the response to the effects of the pandemic and the cost-of-living and climate crises has been bold and decisive. The federal government introduced a €9 (£7.60) monthly public transport pass, available to everyone and across the network for the months of June, July and August.
As soon as the offer was announced, our social media streams were buzzing with people sharing news of snapping up the opportunity to enjoy inexpensive, unlimited travel on all buses, trams, subways and regional trains across Germany. And after just one month, the success of the scheme appears to make a compelling case for other countries to follow suit.
Melissa and Chris Bruntlett are urban mobility activists based in the Netherlands and the authors of Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in our Lives
