Overview
- The state plans to raise investment aid for vehicles and depots from €21 million in 2025 to roughly €60 million in 2027.
- Industry groups say that scale falls short next to 2024 outlays of about €610 million in public financing plus around €200 million from fares.
- Operators cite rising energy costs, EU-driven electrification, higher wages, accessibility and digitalization expenses, and long delivery times for new buses.
- Income is constrained by the Deutschlandticket, while weakening municipal cross-subsidies shift more of the burden onto counties and towns.
- A shortage of skilled staff, expected to worsen with a retirement wave, heightens the risk of service reductions, with bus-dependent rural links seen as most vulnerable.