Imagine if you could use any train or public transport in the country every month, with a single pass? Well, Germany has done it, launching its universal ticket at 49 euros per month. Described by Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing as “the biggest fare reform in public transport in Germany”, this “official successor” comes after the smashing success of the 9-euro summer ticket experiment. Zoom on this long-awaited ticket, estimated to be adopted by about “11 to 20 million people…”
Launch initially for early 2023
Marketed under the name Deutschlandticket, this new pass will be entirely paperless. It will be valid for all short- and medium-distance public transport, including buses, metros, streetcars and trains, except intercity trains. Offered in the form of a monthly subscription, with no commitment, it will greatly improve purchasing power.
“For example, people with a yearly subscription to the Großraum-Verkehr Hannover (GVH) pay €59.80 per month for bus and train services in the Hannover urban area. Anyone who can use the €49 ticket in the future will save about €130 per year.”
MEDIARAIL.BE
With a launch date of January 1, the Deutschlandticket can already be ordered online on the HVV (Hamburger Verkehsverbund) public transport website. However, it seems that it could be delayed. Indeed, some local and regional transport operators consider such a successful launch complex. According to Oliver Wolff, Managing Director of the Association of German Transport Companies, it would be more “realistic” to launch the pass on March 1, 2023.
A huge and progressive financing…
As the liberal minister said, the question of how the Deutschlandticket will be financed has not yet been fully resolved. Indeed, the federal government wants to invest no less than 1.5 billion euros. The objective: to support the Deutsche Bahn railway company in particular. In addition to this, more than 1 billion euros per year will be made available. An additional sum dedicated to the development of local transport in the Länders. However, this raises the question of a significant increase in regionalization funds. To date, this investment has been mainly allocated to the development of local transport.
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Over the first two years, an experimental phase is planned, before possibly increasing the tariff. An automatic tariff adjustment could be strongly influenced by the rate of inflation. However, it is important to note that during the press conference, the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, announced that he would eventually launch a lower subscription for certain regions.
This is particularly the case for the latest monthly subscription launched in October in the capital of Berlin. It’s a €29 pass, valid only in the AB fare zone. This is another initiative that is a real step forward in changing mobility behaviors, which the federal states hope will also be very beneficial for the environment…
