Little environmental benefit

Court of Audit dismantles Gewessler’s climate ticket

The effect of the climate ticket on the environment appears to be less than previously assumed.(Bild: Rauth Hubert)

The Court of Audit has conducted an audit of the climate ticket, which has been in place since October 26, 2021. It ruthlessly exposed the weaknesses - but also the successes - of the prestigious green project. The report shows: The Ministry of Transport at the time under Leonore Gewessler was clearly working with unrealistic assumptions. 

First of all: as far as demand is concerned, the climate ticket was a complete success. With around 244,000 tickets sold in 2023, this was significantly higher than expected - the forecast was only around half this figure.

However, there was a lack of precise data on which customer groups use the climate ticket. This makes it more difficult to estimate the real economic impact of the climate ticket. In total, budget subsidies of around 1.13 billion euros were required by the end of 2024, of which 520 million euros for the Austria-wide ticket and 610 million euros for the regional variants.  

Low environmental benefits
However, according to the Court of Audit, the benefits for the environment are minimal. The climate ticket has only reduced greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector by around 0.2 percent. In view of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector of around 20 million tons of CO₂ equivalents, this is only a small effect.

What are CO₂ equivalents?

These equivalents are a unit of measurement that converts various greenhouse gases to their climate impact, i.e. how much CO₂ they are "worth".

The Ministry of Transport also assessed the benefits of the ticket too one-sidedly based on the CO₂ reduction and disregarded other possible positive effects - such as fewer accidents, air pollutants or noise pollution. 

"Unrealistic assumptions" about mobility behavior
The ACA was particularly critical of the free climate ticket for 18-year-olds introduced in 2024, which was discontinued in April 2025. The assumptions about the mobility behavior of young people were unrealistic. One example of this is the idea that without the free ticket, the respective journeys would be made by car.

According to the Court of Audit, there was also insufficient consideration between the costs of the free ticket and alternative investments such as infrastructure or the expansion of the ministry's services. 

"Increase demand for public transport by making car travel less attractive"
 For the evaluation of the climate ticket announced by the Ministry of Transport, the ACA recommends differentiating between two aspects: A distinction should be made as to whether more people are using the climate ticket because, for example, there is population growth ("external circumstances") or because the annual network ticket tariff is cheaper.

After examining the Vienna model, the demand for public transport could be increased by making it more attractive if "at the same time motorized private transport is made less attractive".

The Greens responded to the criticism from the Austrian Parliament in a press release on Friday and emphasized, among other things, that the climate ticket is "far more than just a climate protection measure". Elisabeth Götze, transport spokesperson for the Greens, described it as "a transport policy success story with hugely positive effects for the environment, the climate and people's wallets."