9-euro ticket: "Lures customers into the trap" - expert warns of rude awakening to fare dodging

Created: 05/30/2022, 14:11

By: Markus Hofstetter

Traveling with the 9-euro ticket can become expensive fun.

If you sit in the wrong regional train, you could be fined 60 euros.

Berlin - From the beginning of June to the end of August you can use the so-called 9-euro ticket in Germany, which is part of the federal government's relief package.

The ticket, which, as the name suggests, costs nine euros a month, is valid for all regional and local public transport, including buses, subways, suburban trains and trams.

Excluded are long-distance connections, such as journeys in IC and ICE trains or long-distance buses.

Confusion about the 9-euro ticket: DB Fernverkehr also operates regional connections

But it's not quite that simple after all.

The discounted ticket is actually not valid on all regional trains, but only on the trains operated by the DB Regio subsidiary.

Regional trains operated by the railway subsidiary DB Fernverkehr are not included.

An example is the route between Konstanz am Bodensee and Stuttgart, which is served by DB Fernverkehr trains.

In practical terms, this means that the connections have both an IC number and a regional train number.

The 9-euro ticket is not yet valid for all regional connections © Markus Mainka/imago

There are six other connections that cannot be used with the 9-euro ticket.

These are

• Elsterwerda-Berlin

• Berlin-Prenzlau

• Potsdam-Berlin-Cottbus

• Dillenburg-Letmathe

• Erfurt-Gera

• Bremen-Norddeich Mole

Confusion about the 9-euro ticket: According to Pro Bahn, passengers are lured into the trap

However, because the connections mentioned are also displayed on bahn.de and in the DB Navigator even if the user selects the option "Local transport only", criticism comes from the Pro Bahn passenger association.

, Deputy Federal Chairman Lukas Iffländer says

: “If the information systems – despite the restriction to local transport – show trains that cannot be used with the nine-euro ticket, this lures passengers into the trap, who through no fault of their own are accused of fare evasion to become."

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To be on the safe side and avoid this trap, it is advisable to click on "More information" under "Show details" when searching for a ticket after selecting the option "Local transport only".

There it is noted who the operator of the connection is:

DB regional or DB long-distance. 

Another clue is the appearance of the trains: "The ticket is valid on all trains that are not white," explains Pro-Bahn Honorary President Karl-Peter Naumann.

DB long-distance trains usually have white wagons, while regional trains are mostly red.

Confusion about the 9-euro ticket: the federal states are negotiating with the railways to solve the problem

But there is hope.

On the route between Konstanz and Stuttgart, the railways and the state of Baden-Württemberg have agreed that the 9-euro ticket will also be accepted on the trains on this IC section.

Talks are still ongoing with the other federal states.

But the nine-euro ticket is not valid on all bus routes of the DB Regio subsidiaries.

On the website www.dbregiobus-bayern.de, the railway informs that the ticket cannot be used for the following connections:

• Regionalverkehr Allgäu GmbH (RVA): line 1 (Kleinwalsertal), line 7 (Birgsau) and line 8 (Spielmannsau)

• Regionalverkehr Oberbayern GmbH (RVO): On-demand transport “Rosi”, Almerlebnisbus

Confusion about 9-euro ticket: what happens if you sit on the wrong train?

If a train driver uses the 9-euro ticket in a means of transport for which it is not valid, he is considered a fare dodger.

Then he has to pay a fine of 60 euros.

But in view of the confusion about the discounted ticket, one can hope that the railway staff will be lenient.

But you shouldn't rely on that.

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