Council of States wants to increase federal funding for regional passenger transport
Published: Tuesday, Dec 5th 2023, 12:20
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The Council of States wants to increase the federal funding for regional passenger transport by CHF 55 million compared to today - and not cut it by CHF 5 million, as proposed by the Federal Council. This exacerbates the problem of the debt brake.
In the budget debate on Tuesday, the small chamber approved a minority motion by Beat Rieder (center/VS) by 26 votes to 18. In future, transport companies will have around CHF 1.134 billion at their disposal for the planned uncovered costs. The increase of CHF 55 million compared to today also affects the financial planning years 2025 to 2027.
Rieder pointed out that the cantons would have to bear more of the costs of fare increases if the funds were not increased. "We should not take the risk of jeopardizing the attractive timetable across the whole country," said Stefan Engler (centre/GR).
Peter Hegglin (center/ZG), on the other hand, argued that an increase in funding for regional passenger transport was not appropriate. Not only would there be fewer cuts here, there would actually be an increase. Even supporters of the increase stated that it would be difficult to compensate for the additional expenditure.
"We are currently around CHF 100 million short of the debt brake, which is not a brilliant achievement by our Council," said Benedikt Würth (center/SG). Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter took the same line: "You have to set priorities. I really don't see any more room for maneuver."
©Keystone/SDA
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