Bought with several billion tax dollars, Germany has been experiencing the largest traffic experiment in its history since Wednesday.

Fuel discount and 9-euro ticket are intended to relieve inflation-plagued Germans.

The spiritual fathers - FDP and Greens - praise the summer discount weeks: Finance Minister Lindner speaks of a relief for all those who depend on the car.

The Greens see the cheap public transport tickets as the first step into a whole new world of transport.

Both would be nice, but it's wishful thinking.

The tank discount relieves drivers in the short term, as was shown on Wednesday.

However, it may well be that mineral oil companies and petrol station operators have increased prices preventively in the past few days and will do so again as soon as attention dwindles.

In addition, the tax relief does not particularly help those who are groaning under inflation: those who live just above the subsistence level are rarely frequent drivers.

In addition, nobody can explain why Germany made petrol cheaper in the same week that the EU pushed through to an oil embargo against Russia.

Less fuel should now be consumed, not more.

Braking with one foot and accelerating with the other – that doesn’t go together.

The 9-euro ticket is not a blueprint for tomorrow's public transport

Although the 9-euro ticket relieves the burden on citizens, it is not a blueprint for tomorrow's public transport.

All international experiences, such as in Vienna, show: First, the range of buses and trains must be expanded, then people can be convinced of the car alternative with low prices.

If you do it the other way around, the journey is likely to backfire, and the cheap ticket should be remembered as a fun event for bowling enthusiasts and groups of pensioners who like to travel - loosely based on the motto "free beer for everyone".

The public debate about mobility is characterized far too much by the fact that everything should always be available, as free and trouble-free as possible.

But innovative companies like Uber and Co, which get the sluggish industry moving, would rather be kept outside.

That has to change: After the discount battle, please the innovation offensive!