Tyrol voucher scheme draws 10,300 household registrations

About 10,300 households in the Reutte district have registered for Tyrol’s Außerfern funding scheme, a voucher programme intended to offset the cost of a future toll at the planned Fernpass summit tunnel, ORF reported. Around half have received their voucher cards.

Registered households can use the cards at participating businesses in the district. About 200 businesses currently take part, including pharmacies, food retailers, craft businesses and private healthcare providers.

The state says the scheme is expected to bring around 2.5 million euros in additional purchasing power to the district each year. Annual credits depend on household size: 150 euros for one-person households, 200 euros for two-person households and 290 euros for households of three or more.

Households that have registered but have not yet received a card are expected to get one in the coming days or weeks. The current balance can be checked online or when making a purchase. Any unused credit expires on December 31, and the cards are loaded with a new annual balance in the new year. The state recommends registering by November to use the credit this year.

The funding is intended to compensate residents for the additional cost of the toll planned for the Fernpass summit tunnel. A complaint by environmental group verkehrswende.at against the tunnel’s nature conservation permit is pending.