Why it’s not for the spontaneous

by time news

WIf he still relies on the Germany ticket for the month of May with its many public holidays, he must hope for the goodwill of the transport company. The deadline for taking out a subscription valid from May 1st expired on Easter Monday. In principle, it is only possible to purchase the Germany ticket for the following month up to the 10th of a month. In the general euphoria about the new, first nationwide local transport ticket, this fact is likely to have been lost in many cases. The Germany ticket for 49 euros per month is valid nationwide from May on all local and regional buses and trains.

However, the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) have already taken precautions: They have extended the deadline up to and including April 20th. From this day on, the ticket for May can only be issued in good time in the local customer centers, the BVG announced. The reason for this is the long processing time for customer data.

Unlike the 9-euro ticket that caused a rush to use local public transport last summer, this is a subscription. This can be canceled on a monthly basis, but significantly more customer data, including address and bank details, is required to complete it. This has already taken some time with the usual regional subscriptions. With the Deutschlandticket, however, thousands of existing contracts must also be rebooked, as the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) emphasizes.

The goodwill comes up against technical limits

“We don’t want to turn anyone away who wants to buy a Germany ticket,” said a spokesman for the association. He therefore expects that many transport associations will continue to sell their customers Germany tickets valid from May beyond April 10th. However, this must be decided locally. In addition, the technical requirements set limits to goodwill.

It is still completely unclear how many people have opted for the Deutschlandticket. Only Deutsche Bahn has given the first sales figures and has identified enormous demand: 250,000 Germany tickets were sold in the first three days of advance sales. However, many users should first contact their regional transport company, especially if they already have a subscription. You can now decide whether to convert your previous contract into a Germany ticket.

In many cases, this should be the cost-saving option, most subscriptions have so far been significantly more expensive than 49 euros per month. However, many transport associations have so far allowed their users to take bicycles or other passengers with them. The VDV expects around 5.6 million new customers. According to the forecast, eleven million existing subscription customers will switch to the Deutschlandticket.

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