Freezing fares on the highways and trains, and a cap on rent increases. These are some of the features of Austria’s new package against the inflation crisis.
Regardless of how high inflation becomes, residential rents may not generally increase by more than five percent per year in 2024–2026, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) and his government announce. The announcement comes after forecasts of rent increases of up to around 15 percent next year.
And frozen fares for travelers could affect even more of the country’s nine million residents – plus foreigners passing through. The so-called vignette required, even by foreign cars, to be allowed to use Austria’s motorways would actually have been raised by over ten percent. But now the vignette price is frozen at 96 euros (roughly SEK 1,100) per year.
The same freeze applies to the country’s “Climate Ticket”, a card for buses and trains that has become internationally renowned for its low price: 1,095 euros (13,000 kroner) for free travel for a whole year.
Karl Nehammer’s Christian Democratic ÖVP governs Austria together with the environmental party Die Grüne, and is now betting on increasing its popularity ahead of a parliamentary election expected at the end of next year.