Referendum in November
A breakthrough with the semester ticket
TUMstudinews: It seems as if the semester ticket might be implemented soon. There is to be a referendum for Munich’s students in November. What is the poll about?
Stefan Bschorer: All students of the TUM, the LMU and Munich University of applied sciences can vote whether they are in favour of a public transport ticket being introduced or not. It would be paid for every semester – on top of the student union fee. The voting process is very simple: just visit www.semesterticket-muenchen.de, log on with your mytum-ID and cast your vote.
TUMstudinews: Approval on the part of the students is one of the requirements – another crucial aspect is the city council’s decision. What will the council have to agree on?
Stefan Bschorer: The SPD requested that the city of Munich should agree to compensate a possible deficit for the MVV for a period of two years. The Greens and the CSU have already indicated that they will vote in favour of this solution. So a key issue appears to be solved – because the financing of a possible deficit was disputed for a long time.
TUMstudinews: There already was a referendum for students back in 2009 but the majority of the LMU opposed the idea. Why do you think it will work this time?
Stefan Bschorer: The main reason the last referendum failed was because the semester ticket would have been too expensive. It will turn out to be much cheaper now: the so-called "solidary fee" is 59 Euros for every semester. Once you have paid this sum, you will be able to travel the whole MVV network from 6 pm to 6 am on weekdays, the whole weekend and during holidays. This amount would have to be paid by everybody. Anyone who pays 141 Euros more can use the whole network without any restrictions. That’s the equivalent of 33 Euros per month, which is cheaper than a monthly ticket for 2 rings.
TUMstudinews: The compulsory contribution would be 59 Euros just to travel in the evenings, at night time and at weekends. Who would use this?
Stefan Bschorer: Everybody who moves around on foot or by bike a lot. Many events in the way of sports, culture and recreation facilities take place after 6 pm. You can go on outings at the weekend – and many students travel to the central station and then from there to their home. Don’t forget that the ticket covers the entire MVV network, including some of the places round about Munich: as far as Moosburg in the north, for example – also to Erding and Markt Schwaben in the east and to Grafing, Holzkirchen or Geltendorf in the south.
TUMstudinews: The next challenge is to mobilize enough students to vote. How will you do that?
Stefan Bschorer: The semester ticket already has thousands of supporters on facebook. We are also supported by the President. He agreed to every student being contacted once more about this matter. We will also provide detailed information at the Student’s Assembly on November 13 and at the Student’s Council Meeting on October 31. By the way, we are still looking for volunteers to help organize the referendum. We are grateful for anyone who would like to participate. Simply register under info@semesterticket-muenchen.de !
Stefan Bschorer (24) studies Electrical Engineering and Computer Technology in his 9th semester. He comes from the area around Donauwoerth. He has been involved with the “AK Mobilität” since 2010 and also represents it within the passenger’s advisory board of the MVV.
Contact: bschorer@fs.tum.de