Pros and cons of a GB-Ticket

[yorksrob]

That’s over and above a) the rest of their transport budget and b) the massive federal subsidy for the D-Ticket.

To look at a UK context Al (sorry) suggests that Uk government spends around £430-£450 on transport per person per year (based on £28 - £30 billion spend on a population of 68 million people), so a similar amount (£40-£45) perhaps wouldn't be too bad in that context.

Also, given that this would primarily benefit residents outside of London, it would also help to alleviate the disparity of spending on transport per person between London and elsewhere.

 

[geordieblue]

Have just been reading parts of a recent report on the D-Ticket. Take up by federal state varies between 48% in Hamburg to 10% in one of the more rural states. This level has only been achieved in Hamburg because they have a) effectively abolished their own local season tickets and b) are issuing D-Tickets to all school children for their travel to school. This is costing the State of Hamburg over 100 million Euros a year for a population of under 2 million.

HVV’s app is (or was) also one of the only ways to obtain a D-ticket without a German bank account so possibly tourists/part-time travellers would form a decent chunk of that figure too? (Rather than just those actually living in Hamburg)

 

[yorksrob]

And where will the money for this expansion come from?
You will need many many billions, and by far the cheapest capacity uplift would be Class 378 style interiors for rolling stock.

The railway already consumes subsidies comparable to spending on the road network, there is little appetite for more.

Perhaps we should ask Germany (and the rest) how they manage it.

I make it £3+ billion. Bear in mind the Deutschland ticket is something like 750 Euro's annually. If ours were to be more expensive than that, the additional subsidy would be less.

 

[The exile]

HVV’s app is (or was) also one of the only ways to obtain a D-ticket without a German bank account so possibly tourists/part-time travellers would form a decent chunk of that figure too? (Rather than just those actually living in Hamburg)

The survey was by Bundesland rather than transport authority (HVV includes parts of Lower Saxony as well)

 

[A S Leib]

A National railcard would be another lower cost alternative

Just in the existing UK (and BahnCard, Carte avantage etc.) sense, or one like Train+ with holders having significantly lower maximum fares compared to currently?

(There seems to effectively be a maximum fare now, with a return fare to Kyle of Lochalsh with a railcard the same price from Bristol as from Penzance, but I was thinking of something below £372 per ticket.)

 

[The exile]

Perhaps we should ask Germany (and the rest) how they manage it.

I make it £3+ billion. Bear in mind the Deutschland ticket is something like 750 Euro's annually. If ours were to be more expensive than that, the additional subsidy would be less.

There is a great deal of doubt in Germany whether they will “manage it” in the long term.

 

[yorksrob]

Just in the existing UK (and BahnCard, Carte avantage etc.) sense, or one like Train+ with holders having significantly lower maximum fares compared to currently?

(There seems to effectively be a maximum fare now, with a return fare to Kyle of Lochalsh with a railcard the same price from Bristol as from Penzance, but I was thinking of something below £372 per ticket.)

Well, the BahnCard is another option which would provide significant benefits to passengers whilst presumably costing much less subsidy.

I'm not sure where a maximum fare fits into these schemes - certainly the £372 maximum isn't very practical for most passengers (and of course, isn't the maximum for those currently not eligible for a railcard).

There is a great deal of doubt in Germany whether they will “manage it” in the long term.

I certainly hope they do persevere with it, even if the current price is deemed to be too low.

Given the high level spend, it suggests to me that the cost of more modest innovations such as a National Railcard would be cost chicken feed in the context of national transport spending.