Federal transport minister Steffen Bilger (CDU) has for the first time quantified concrete savings from the planned reform of driving training. Learner drivers could save several hundred euros, in the best case even up to €1,000, Bilger said in an interview with the television channel “Welt”. This was reported among others by tagesschau.de, the Tagesspiegel and the Munich evening newspaper “mopo.de”. The minister at the same time pointed to large regional differences and to the fact that some learner drivers need more driving lessons than others.
“With more digital instruction and a reduction in bureaucracy, we want to lower costs,” Bilger told “Welt”. According to the Federal Ministry of Transport, the cost of a category B car driving licence currently averages around €3,400. In Hamburg, a driving licence currently costs on average between €2,500 and €4,500, as mopo.de reports, citing its own research.
What the reform is specifically intended to change
In May, the federal cabinet had launched a draft law. It provides for reducing compulsory special drives such as night and motorway drives, significantly cutting the question catalogue in the theoretical examination and making theory lessons completely possible online. In addition, a reduction in bureaucracy is to lower costs, Bilger said. The Tagesspiegel and mopo.de also report on planned practice drives by learner drivers with family members as well as a planned layperson training that is meeting with criticism.
The Bundestag decision is still pending, and the Bundesrat would also have to agree. If the plans are adopted as they stand, the changes could already take effect from next year, tagesschau.de reports.
Praise from ADAC, resistance from driving instructors
ADAC supports the reform. Criticism, however, comes from the association of driving instructors, which warns that the safety level could fall. Among other things, it demands that part of the theory lessons should remain compulsory in person. The Sozialverband Deutschland (SoVD) has also spoken out: the cost explosion for driving licences above all poses problems for young people, who often go into debt, said board chairwoman Michaela Engelmeier according to Tagesspiegel and op-online.de. “Not having a driving licence can later also be a real competitive disadvantage on the labour market,” Engelmeier said. Important professions such as paramedics, bus drivers, disabled transport services or mobile care workers depend on driving.
In the interview, Bilger also commented on the fuel rebate. On his change of position, he said: “I would have liked to avoid a second fuel rebate.” But the burden on commuters and certain companies was too great, which is why he supports it. The fuel rebate above all has one advantage: “It helps quickly and directly,” said the CDU politician. As transport minister, he had in mind sectors that could not simply raise or pass on their prices, such as taxi and bus companies or hauliers. If the current situation persists, “it would be more appropriate to support these directly”.
Editor’s note: The savings mentioned are based on forecasts by associations and are not guaranteed figures. The final amount of the saving depends on regional prices and individual learning needs.
