Austria releases country-wide climate ticket to get people out of their cars

The climate ticket can be used on all public transport across the country, including on trains between cities

On 28 October, Austria’s countrywide climate ticket will become available to citizens. The ticket is a unified yearly pass for all public transportation across the country, such as buses, trams, inter-city trains and others.

The government’s idea behind the move is to promote mass transit as a more efficient and climate-friendly means of transportation to personal vehicles. They also promote the climate ticket as a way for citizens to pitch in and help achieve the targets laid out in the Paris climate accord.

A public transport road tax

The climate ticket is supposed to serve as a sort of vignette type road tax. A vignette is a form of road tax that drivers pay to use the roads for a certain amount of time. The same logic applies to the climate ticket, however, people will still have access to regular short term tickets.

The climate ticket will be valid for a period of one year for every type of public transportation, with the acceptance of cable cars. At the same time, vendors in some federal states will offer a regional equivalent.

Up to 31 October, the ticket will have a 15% discount and will cost 949 euros, out of 1,095. Tickets for anyone under 26 and retirees will have a presently reduced price of 821 euros, however, these groups can still take advantage of the 15% discount in the initial roll-out. This would drop the price to manageable 699 euros.

The ticket will be inactive for the first 14 days, as this is the grace period when citizens can return it and get their money back. People who wish to travel right away can by an active ticket from a brick and mortar vendor, for example, the ÖBB train station.