Stendal district is considering returning to public transport in its own hands: What does that mean?

Stendal district is considering returning to public transport in its own hands: What does that mean?

In the Stendal district there are signs of change in local public transport. The district administration is examining whether it makes sense to put bus transport back into municipal hands. The operation was outsourced to private providers more than 20 years ago, and the bus service is currently carried out by the company “Stendalbus”, which is part of the TransDev group of companies. The current contract expires in three years, and District Administrator Patrick Puhlmann (SPD) was concerned about the monopoly position of “Stendalbus”. The takeover could offer the advantage of being able to react more flexibly to necessary changes, for example with the Germany ticket, report colleagues from daily news.

However, the planned remunicipalization also raises questions. According to the district administration, high investment costs and risks are to be expected, as more than 40 bus routes have to be covered and around four million kilometers are driven by the bus routes every year. Before implementation, there is a comprehensive examination of the economic aspects, which involves costs of 160,000 euros. However, this money must first be approved by the district council. Independent experts should take a critical look at the economic circumstances.

Germany ticket and its challenges

Another sticking point in the district's public transport is the Deutschlandticket. On February 29, 2024, the district council decided to recognize this ticket until December 31, 2024. The digital ticket makes it possible to use local transport and regional rail transport from all participating transport companies throughout Germany. From January 1, 2025, the price of the Germany ticket will increase from EUR 49.00 to EUR 58.00. This is happening against the background that the federal and state governments will provide a total of 3.0 billion euros in 2025 to compensate for shortfalls in revenue Meeting service of the Stendal district reported.

However, there are also critical voices about the introduction of the Deutschlandticket. Economic experts emphasize that this measure primarily benefits high earners and that the complexity for transport companies increases. A study by the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) shows that only 5% of journeys with the Deutschlandticket were diverted from cars to public transport, which many experts consider to be insufficient. These challenges should not be forgotten when one considers the financial pressure on the public sector and the considerations for integrating the Deutschlandticket into the existing structures, as stated by Economic service reported.

Financial scenarios for the future

A deficit risk is expected for municipal authorities in 2025, while the financial impact on the district can be roughly estimated, but does not appear alarming. The district spends around 4.5 million euros annually on local transport, with the remaining more than 6 million euros coming from the state and federal government. The question remains whether the total income can continue to cover financial needs in the future.

The ongoing discussions about the financing of local transport and the potential consequences of price increases could play a major role in the future. Experts warn that these increases could jeopardize the positive development and the desired modal shift. It will be exciting to see how local public transport in the Stendal district develops in the coming years and to what extent a return to remunicipalisation of bus transport can actually be implemented.