€1 a day public transit is coming to the German city of Leipzig
That’s affordable
The Vienna model
In 2012, the Austrian capital Vienna reduced the price of its annual travel pass from €449 to €365, and has since boosted sales from 321,000 in 2011 to 822,000 in 2018.
When children and students (eligible for cheaper passes) are added to the total, around 1.1 million of Vienna’s 1.9 million population now have a long-term pass.
The brainchild of former Deputy Mayor Maria Vassilakou – who ran for office for the Green Party in 2010 promising €100 season tickets, but had to settle for a €365 compromise – the ‘Vienna model’ has served as an example to larger cities looking to expand public transport usage without losing a considerable chunk of revenue.
Public transit ridership also increased after the measure was introduced in Vienna and other European cities are now considering bringing in similar schemes.
In 2019 Berlin Mayor Michael Müller told Swiss newspaperNeue Zürcher Zeitungthat he wanted to pursue the goal of replicating Vienna’s euro a day model “step by step.”
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Story byCities Today
Cities Today is the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders.Cities Today is the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders.
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