Klimaticket: This is what the Court of Audit says

The Climate Ticket, which has been valid for almost all public transport since October 26, 2021, has been addressed by the Court of Audit in a recent report, noting particularly the high sales figures. However, the Court of Audit assessed the benefit for the environment in terms of the expected greenhouse gas reductions as "rather low" in "consideration of the total emissions of the transport sector" and overall criticized the approach of the Ministry of Transport under Leonore Gewessler (Greens).

Numerous Climate Tickets Sold

Regarding demand, the Climate Ticket was a success: In 2023, approximately 243,754 units were sold, about twice as many as the 124,000 that were forecasted. However, the Court of Audit missed information on which customer group this demand is attributable to, as "such data is needed to comprehensively assess economic impacts."

The Court of Audit criticized the Ministry of Transport for only estimating the impact through reduced greenhouse gas emissions - and mentioned fewer accidents, less air pollution, or less noise pollution as other economic effects. Regarding the parameter "greenhouse gas emissions," the Court of Audit assessed the reduction through the Climate Ticket as "rather low." "The total greenhouse gas emissions of the transport sector amounted to around 20 million tons of CO2 equivalents in 2023 - with the Climate Ticket, these should be reduced by 0.2 percent," the report stated.

Court of Audit Sees "Unrealistic Assumptions"

For the free Climate Ticket Austria introduced in 2024 for 18-year-olds - which was discontinued on April 19, 2025 - the Court of Audit missed a consideration between the necessary financial resources and "an alternative use of funds for infrastructure expansion or service expansion." The approach of the Ministry of Transport, then led by Gewessler, that young adults represent an underrepresented customer group, was also not comprehensible to the Court of Audit. Likewise, the estimates of the impacts for the free ticket were based on "unrealistic assumptions" about the mobility behavior of the target group. As an example, the hypothesis was mentioned that potential users would make all journeys by car without a ticket.

Greens Responded to Court of Audit Criticism

The Greens responded on Friday with a statement to the Court of Audit criticism, highlighting, among other things, that the Climate Ticket is "far more than just a climate protection measure." Elisabeth Götze, the Greens' transport spokesperson, described it as "a transport policy success story with enormously positive impacts for the environment, the climate, and people's wallets."

In view of the evaluation of the Climate Ticket Austria announced by the Ministry of Transport, the Court of Audit recommends distinguishing between two aspects: "Changes in mobility behavior due to uncontrollable conditions - such as population growth - and those changes that are attributable to the reduced annual network card tariff." According to the evaluation of the Vienna model, public transport demand can be increased by making it more attractive if "at the same time, motorized individual transport is made less attractive."

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.