Starting 1 October 2020, seniors in the German city of Stuttgart will be able to turn in their driver’s license in return for a 1-year subscription to the local public transport service. The scheme is a joint operation by local authorities, alongside the Stuttgart Transport and Tariff Association (VVS) who will be cosponsoring it for the next two years.
Making it easy to live a safer and environmentally friendly life
Seniors and pensioners over the age of 60 living in Stuttgart will be the ones eligible to take part in the new scheme that is meant to not only make the roads safer for everyone but to also help the elderly transition into a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way of life.
All applicants need to do is present the relevant documents as well as proof that they have waived or cancelled their driver’s license after which they will receive their free subscription. The senior citizen subscription is valid around the clock in the entire VVS operated area as well as in the entire district of Göppingen come 2021.
The annual season tickets for senior citizens are financed jointly by local authorities in Stuttgart and the VVS. The price for such a subscription is usually 560.40 euros per year. The city’s own share of provided funding is 50 per cent in the first year in which the project is active. With an estimated 2,000 applications, that is around 560,000 euros in total. In the second year of the scheme’s lifespan, the Stuttgart will cover 25 per cent of the costs, which amounts to around 196,000 euros for a further 1,400 applications.
Those who are interested in applying for the scheme can do so after 1 October 2020. The subscriptions that will be issued, however, will become active one month later – on 1 November.
Source: TheMayor.EU
