It is a strange spectacle that repeats these days. At the gas stations, the numbers flicker upwards, cent by cent, like a silent fever thermometer of a society that has gotten used to the wrong thing. And politics? It debates caps, discounts, compensations – as if trying to extinguish a fire with a glass of water.
But the solution has long been on the street. Or better said: on the bus lane.
Because what if you simply reversed the situation? If you no longer tried to keep driving artificially affordable, but finally strengthened what is obvious – namely public transport. Free. Accessible. Taken for granted.
Just like in Dunkirk.
There they have understood what mobility really means. Not the freedom to afford expensive fuel. But the freedom to be able to move – without fear of the next bill. Without this constant weighing: do I drive today or do I better save it?
It is about dignity.
And yes, also about fairness.
Because while profits continue to flow into the pockets of oil corporations at the pumps, people pay twice: first at the pump, then through taxes for half-hearted relief packages. An absurd system. Almost cynical. An infrastructure is artificially kept alive that increasingly works against its own population.
But why?
Why not have the courage to change course?
Free public transport is not a gift. It is a decision. A political stance. A rejection of the logic that mobility should be a luxury good. And a clear message: The city belongs to everyone, not just those with a full tank.
Of course, it costs money. Everything costs money. Roads cost money. Subsidies cost money. Standstill costs the most. But what is more expensive – a functioning bus system or a society that increasingly cannot move anymore?
You just have to ask this question honestly once.
And you immediately feel how wrong the current debate is going.
Because it is no longer just about transport policy. It’s about the image a country has of itself. Does it want to continue watching social divisions deepen at the gas pump? Or does it want to take a step forward – toward mobility that connects instead of divides?
Dunkirk provides an answer to this. Quiet, unspectacular, but effective.
The bus runs. People get on. Without a ticket, without a barrier. And suddenly something works that previously seemed complicated. Just like that.
Maybe that is the real scandal: That it works. That it has long been working. And that people still hesitate to implement it elsewhere.
You could also put it differently – a bit pointed, a bit impatient: We already know what is right. We just don’t dare to do it consistently yet.
But how much longer?
A commentary by C. Hatty