BSW Demands 2,000-Euro Cap on Driver’s License Costs

In light of the high cost of obtaining a driver’s license in Germany, the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) has called for a price cap. “The federal and state governments must ensure that people can obtain their driver’s license early for a maximum of 2,000 euros,” BSW leader Fabio De Masi told AFP on Saturday. He said the measure should be financed through cuts to electric vehicle subsidies and through inheritance tax reform.

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De Masi argued that the current costs “can only be described as ripping off young people and their families.” For millions of families, he said, the price of a driver’s license has become a financial barrier that is increasingly hard to overcome. “It cannot be that young people from low-income families can no longer afford something they often need for training and work.”

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He criticized the federal government as being “politically incapable of acting on this issue as well.” Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder had announced a reform of driver’s license regulations in the autumn and suggested that a “more affordable driver’s license” could be expected. De Masi said that if this reform “even happens at all,” it would be only “a drop in the ocean.” BSW is therefore demanding a formal price cap.

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De Masi also proposed that the federal and state governments should “financially incentivize” getting a driver’s license at age 17. “Traffic researchers point out that accompanied driving is very effective in improving road safety.” He further argued that making driver’s licenses more affordable would help address the skilled-labor shortage. “We advocate for the right to an affordable driver’s license, one that counters social injustice and supports the economy.”

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Schnieder recently warned that the reform of driving school training he proposed would “not make the driver’s license immediately cheaper.” “We are giving driving schools options and flexibility, how that will affect prices in practice will be determined by the market,” he said at the end of December. He was responding to media reports of plunging new registrations at driving schools. The industry association Moving had complained just days earlier that Schnieder’s announcement had caused “massive uncertainty,” with driving schools reporting “drastic declines in new registrations and significant revenue losses.”

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