Climaticket for 18-year-olds: Is that coming up?

Climaticket for 18-year-olds: Is that coming up?

Vienna, Österreich - The future model of the Austrian climate system is facing a crucial turn: the free climaticket for 18-year-old , also known as KTÖ18, threatens to be abolished. This decision is part of the government program of the current triple coalition. A corresponding prescription project for the deletion of the KTÖ18 is already being prepared in the Ministry of Mobility, reports vienna.at .

The financial framework shows a clear need for consolidation, which is argued for the ticket annually with the planned costs of around 15 million euros . Originally, the planned expenses with up to 120 million euros were estimated, but the actual costs are significantly below. About every fifth of the total of 89,000 authorized persons used the ticket last year.

ticket details and effects

The KTÖ18, the 1. July 2024 was introduced, aimed at persons who from 1. January 2024 celebrate your 18th birthday and live in Austria. It can be used for one year and offers comprehensive access to all public transport in the country, including state and privately operated rail services. It is also possible to activate the ticket between the 18th birthday and the day before the 21st birthday. According to oesterreich.gv.at it is not for tourist offers such as the Schneebergbahn.

A regular climate for young people up to 25 years costs 884.20 euros . The abolition of the KTÖ18 would affect numerous young people; 72,000 alone, who did not claim the ticket in 2024, could benefit in 2025. If used in full use, the cost burden in 2025 could increase to over 142 million euros .

The reactions of politics

The plans for abolition encounter sharp criticism. Leonore Gewessler, the Greens' climate protection spokeswoman, has already described the decision as backwards. Instead of promoting the use of environmentally friendly traffic, this could lead to a decline in the active use of the climatic corner, which is not in the sense of sustainable mobility.

The climate itself has had 26 since its introduction to . October 2021 already found over 208,000 buyers, whereby the sales figures in the different federal states vary greatly. Most tickets were sold in Vienna, Lower Austria and Upper Austria.

Overall, it shows that the KTÖ18 could be an important element to promote public transport and to reduce private transport in Austria. Since the discussion about the cancellation of the ticket takes on speed, it remains to be seen which further steps the government will take. The expansion of environmentally friendly transport infrastructure remains a core component of the Austrian EU development plan, which is to be reinforced by measures such as car sharing and bicycle rental systems, such as bundeskanzleramt reported.