Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger (CDU) is pressing Deutsche Bahn to reinstate the discounted family reservation that was abolished more than a year ago. “We are in talks with Deutsche Bahn about this,” Bilger told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group in their Monday editions. The abolition of the family reservation had “rightly caused a great deal of dissatisfaction”, he said.
Deutsche Bahn declined to comment on the minister’s specific demand. “We do not want to anticipate the substantive discussions,” a railway spokesperson said on Sunday in response to an AFP inquiry. Bilger, for his part, also defended Deutsche Bahn when it comes to being family-friendly. “Deutsche Bahn basically has many good offers for families,” he told the Funke newspapers.
Deutsche Bahn abolished the family reservation in June last year. Until then, families travelling on long-distance trains could reserve seats for all family members for a fixed price of €10.40. Since then, each seat has had to be paid for separately, which can significantly increase costs for families. The decision triggered strong criticism from politicians and passenger associations. More than 128,000 people signed a petition launched by the German Transport Club (VCD) calling for the family reservation to be reinstated.
Bilger also reiterated his opposition to a general speed limit on German motorways. Among other reasons, he cited social cohesion. “A speed limit would further deepen the division in the country because many people would perceive it as a restriction of their freedom,” Bilger told the Funke newspapers.
Bilger also sees little in favour of such a speed limit when it comes to climate protection. Many people already drive more slowly voluntarily, either using cruise control or because of fuel prices. “I therefore doubt that there would be much potential for CO2 savings through a speed limit,” Bilger said. He also sees “no significant effect” when it comes to road safety. German motorways are safer than most motorways in European countries with speed limits.
Bilger said there were more effective ways to achieve climate targets in the transport sector. His goal, he explained, was for the transport sector “no longer to be the problem child of climate policy, but for us in our sector to also achieve the targets”.
He said there were good chances of this because Germany was now entering the phase of the expansion of electric mobility. There are more than 3.6 million electric cars in Germany, while the numbers of electric buses and trucks are also rising noticeably. “As the federal government, we have agreed to stick to the 2045 climate target,” Bilger said. “Every sector has to make its contribution.”
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