Danish party wants cheaper tickets on public transport
Danish left-wing party Red Green Alliance says it wants ticket prices on public transport to be halved, in a policy announcement ahead of the upcoming election.
The Red Green Alliance wants to cut the cost of public transport for passengers in a move it says would help people struggling financially due to inflation. The measure would be financed by postponing motorway projects, according to the proposal.
The ticket reduction would be temporary and would be in place for a one-year period up to January 1st 2024.
“We are seeing drastic inflation and we want to make sure people have a good, green alternative and cheaper public transport,” the party’s lead political spokesperson Mai Villadsen said.
“We are in a situation where we can see petrol prices going up in some places. Bus routes are getting cancelled. We want to keep them open. And the price of either charging an electric car or putting petrol in the tank is high,” she said.
“So we want to do something for public transport,” she said.
The party is also proposing financial relief for regional bus routes which are struggling to meet operational costs due to high fuel prices.
READ ALSO:
- Denmark’s budget-hit buses could pause switch to green fuels
- Why Denmark’s regional bus services could face crisis
The proposal, which would cost six billion kroner, could be financed by shelving a number of motorway projects planned as part of a 2035 infrastructure agreement, according to the Red Green Alliance proposal.
But the left-wing party did not vote for the infrastructure agreement – meaning it cannot change it unless it can get a majority of parties to agree to rip it up.
Villadsen said she did not see the proposal as unlikely to succeed.
“This is just as much a call to action for other parties who, in the middle of a climate and energy crisis, have decided to build new emissions-producing infrastructure and motorways,” she said.
She said she hopes to convince other parties on the left, including the governing Social Democrats, to change stance on the issue.
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The Red Green Alliance wants to cut the cost of public transport for passengers in a move it says would help people struggling financially due to inflation. The measure would be financed by postponing motorway projects, according to the proposal.
The ticket reduction would be temporary and would be in place for a one-year period up to January 1st 2024.
“We are seeing drastic inflation and we want to make sure people have a good, green alternative and cheaper public transport,” the party’s lead political spokesperson Mai Villadsen said.
“We are in a situation where we can see petrol prices going up in some places. Bus routes are getting cancelled. We want to keep them open. And the price of either charging an electric car or putting petrol in the tank is high,” she said.
“So we want to do something for public transport,” she said.
The party is also proposing financial relief for regional bus routes which are struggling to meet operational costs due to high fuel prices.
READ ALSO:
- Denmark’s budget-hit buses could pause switch to green fuels
- Why Denmark’s regional bus services could face crisis
The proposal, which would cost six billion kroner, could be financed by shelving a number of motorway projects planned as part of a 2035 infrastructure agreement, according to the Red Green Alliance proposal.
But the left-wing party did not vote for the infrastructure agreement – meaning it cannot change it unless it can get a majority of parties to agree to rip it up.
Villadsen said she did not see the proposal as unlikely to succeed.
“This is just as much a call to action for other parties who, in the middle of a climate and energy crisis, have decided to build new emissions-producing infrastructure and motorways,” she said.
She said she hopes to convince other parties on the left, including the governing Social Democrats, to change stance on the issue.
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