9-euro ticket boom: debate about future ticket prices

Created: 06/05/2022Updated: 06/05/2022 13:37

Excursion destinations can expect significantly more visitors at Pentecost because of the 9-euro ticket.

© Angelika Warmuth/dpa

Right from the start, the 9-euro ticket was extremely popular with customers.

But should it just remain a flash in the pan?

A permanent cheap ticket is now being discussed.

Berlin - After the boom in the 9-euro monthly ticket and the strong demand for Pentecost rail services, consumer advocates, local authorities and transport politicians are demanding permanently low local transport prices and additional billions in subsidies.

The Association of Towns and Municipalities spoke out in favor of offering a cheap public transport ticket with unlimited nationwide validity even after the 9-euro ticket for local public transport, which was limited to three months, had expired.

The SPD traffic expert Dorothee Martin sees the current discount campaign as an opportunity, but also calls for fundamental improvements.

The "economy" Veronika Grimm reacted cautiously to the push for a cheap ticket for everyone.

The Pentecost weekend is considered the first test for the 9-euro ticket.

This allows holders to travel throughout Germany on local public transport in the months of June, July and August.

At the beginning of the Whitsun holidays, regional trains were in particularly high demand for tourist destinations, according to Deutsche Bahn.

Travelers reported on Saturday that the trains were sometimes completely overcrowded, and there were also delays.

Some train customers would not have found a seat, and passengers had to get off some trains.

Travelers with bicycles were also unable to board in some places, as dpa reporters reported.

Regional trains along tourist destinations were also heavily used on Pentecost Sunday, the railway said.

Demand is at a similarly high level as on Saturday.

Permanently more money for public transport

SPD expert Martin said she was very happy about the great popularity of the 9-euro ticket.

It is clear, however, "that we need more money in public transport in the long term," emphasized the transport policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group in the "Handelsblatt".

In many regions, the offer is unfortunately insufficient.

At the same time, the costs also rose for the transport companies.

The general manager of the Association of Towns and Municipalities, Gerd Landsberg, told the newspaper that "we don't need a short public transport summer, but a nationwide public transport country".

It is therefore necessary to think about the prospect of a nationwide valid, uniform and discounted ticket.

The federal and state governments should agree on the question of financing against the background of experience with the 9-euro ticket.

Only with a permanent increase in funds from the federal and state governments would there be scope to allow more buses and trains to run and also to significantly improve tariff offers, said Landsberg.

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Goal of customer-friendly public transport

The interim head of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv), Jutta Gurkmann, made a similar statement.

"Constantly low ticket prices are important in order to strengthen public transport and retain passengers in the long term," she said.

"The federal government should therefore decide on a price moratorium for buses and trains and invest in customer-friendly public transport and attractive offers."

Gurkmann suggested “beneficiary financing” as an additional financing option.

This would mean involving employers, retailers or private individuals whose real estate increases in value, for example through good public transport connections, in the financing.

The "Wirtschaftsweise" Grimm said with regard to the demand for a nationwide unlimited valid public transport cheap ticket, "with an offer for everyone, including the wealthy, you only reduce the financial leeway without being able to achieve any major effects".

It would be conceivable, for example, to make an extremely favorable offer to young people.

So they got used to using public transport systems, which would then also become more attractive as they expanded, said the economist, who also advises the federal government.

dpa