2024-09-23 14:25:28
People living in Germany or those who visited in the past few years may remember the €9 ticket.
For three months in the summer of 2022, travel on public transport throughout Germany (although not high-speed trains) costs €9 per month – and even tourists can take advantage of the supply. It made its mark at the time, sparking a renewed interest in public transportation and a heated debate over whether it was genius or madness. (the jury is still out).
Then in May 2023, the €49 ticket comes along and it is called ‘Deutschlandticket’. The idea is the same – again, one can use buses, trams, U-Bahn and even local trains all over the country for just under €50 per month. But a subscription system has been introduced, making it difficult for tourists to use the offer.
Now things are changing again.
How much does the Deutschlandticket cost?
The ticket – which has 13 million subscribers – is going up in price by almost €10, and will set customers back €58 per month from January 1st 2025.
“The agreement reached at the special meeting of transport ministers shows that the federal states want to take the Deutschlandticket model of success and development forward,” said North Rhine-Westphalia’s transport minister, Oliver Krischer, of the Greens, following a meeting with . state counterparts on Monday.
“With this price, we will be able to make the ticket more attractive and put your budget on a stronger footing.”
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But even the €58 price tag feels uncertain in the long run. Some state ministers hope that the price will remain unchanged until 2026. However, this is conditional on renewable financial support from the federal government of up to €1.5 billion – and this has not been agreed for 2026.
It switches back-and-forth between the states and the government on funding for the ticket has been one of the most controversial aspects of tourism.
“We need the federal government on board now so that the funds are secured,” said Schleswig-Holstein transport minister Claus Ruhe Madsen.
A passenger holds a mobile phone with a digital Deutschlandticket in his hand at a subway station. The well-known 49 euro price may be set to increase at the beginning of next year. Photo: alliance art/dpa | Marcus Brandt
Why did you go up?
The €9 price hike – which is an 18.3 percent increase – is necessary to keep the supply afloat, state ministers said. They point to inflation and rising labor costs as the main factors behind the change.
It is a “moderate price increase in view of what is available” and is also a “very affordable offer” for the use of all public transport throughout Germany, state transport minister Krischer said.
“We deliberately deducted €58 in order to cover our costs.” That’s not too much and it’s not too little either.”
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What is reaction?
It will no doubt be a disappointment for the millions of consumers in Germany who will have to dig deeper into their pockets from next year.
According to the travel group Pro Bahn, the increase is too high. “A jump to €54 would have been good, but a jump to €58 seems too high to me,” said national chairman Detlef Neuß.
“If the number of passengers goes down because the prices are too high, we gain nothing.”
A study by the government and the states predicted that a price increase of €10 could cause 10.3 to 21.1 percent of Deutschlandticket customers to drop out. No scenarios were calculated for a price increase of €9 but it does not seem great.
A sign for Germany’s Deutschlandticket. Photo: alliance art/dpa | Sebastian Golnow
What does it mean for special tickets?
Discount variants of the Deutschlandticket are also getting more expensive.
The ‘service ticket’, which currently costs €34.30 per month, will go to €40.60 per month from January. If companies give their employees a discount of at least 25 percent on subscription, the government will add a further 5 percent.
And in the future, students will pay €34.80 instead of €29.60 for their semester ticket. However, the new price will not apply to them until the 2025/2026 winter semester.
Is there anything else I should know?
A special offer for annual season ticket holders is called for, which may benefit some holders if it goes ahead.
Following the decision by the state transport ministers, the SPD and the Greens spoke in favor of setting a special price for people who buy an annual ticket, instead of paying month to month.
Stefan Gelbhaar from Greens spoke in favor of keeping the price of €49 per month for annual subscribers.
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