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Austria’s Transport Minister Peter Hanke (SPÖ) has announced a temporary “introductory campaign” allowing new customers to test the nationwide Klimaticket for two months before deciding whether to keep it.
Under the offer, anyone purchasing a Klimaticket starting between 1 May and 30 June can use it for two months and then cancel at no additional cost. The trial period costs €233, or €175 at the reduced rate. A full annual Klimaticket currently costs €1,400, or €1,050 reduced.
Cancellation Fees Still Apply Outside the Promotion
Hanke said at the ministry’s mobility conference that rising fuel prices are putting many people under pressure, and the campaign aims to make public transport more accessible. Outside the promotional window, the usual rules remain in place: a regular cancellation is only possible from the seventh month onward and requires paying a fee equal to one monthly installment—currently €116.67, or €87.50 reduced.
The nationwide Klimaticket currently has 290,000 paying customers. Including regional Klimatickets offered by Austria’s federal states, around 1.7 million people hold some form of climate ticket.
Mixed Reactions from Political Parties and Mobility Groups
The initiative drew criticism from the opposition. FPÖ general secretary and transport spokesperson Christian Hafenecker accused the minister of pursuing “anti-car policies” and leaving people “out in the rain amid the current fuel price madness.”
The Greens welcomed the public transport trial but argued that the minister’s overall message lacked urgency. “Otherwise, this sparse speech could have been given by an SPÖ transport minister ten or fifteen years ago—as if there were neither a climate nor an energy crisis,” said Green transport spokesperson Elisabeth Götze.
Support came from the Austrian Transport Club (VCÖ), which emphasized the need to reduce fuel consumption in light of expected supply bottlenecks from May onward. The Klimaticket trial is “a small step that must be followed quickly by further measures,” said VCÖ mobility expert Michael Schwendinger.
- source: vienna.at/picture: pixabay.com
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