Improvements required for the 49-euro ticket - countries want to tackle open questions

The DGB calls for improvements to the Deutschlandticket.

The transport ministers of the federal states now want to clarify important questions.

Current news about the 49-euro ticket.

• The

  German Trade Union Confederation (DGB)

  calls for improvements to the

  49-euro ticket

• The federal states would like

  to offer the

  49-euro ticket

  to students, schoolchildren and the like at a lower price

• The Bundestag has

  officially passed the draft law on the 49-euro ticket

  - it could still fail

• This news ticker is continuously updated.

Cologne – Weeks before the start, the sale of the 49-euro ticket is slowly starting.

More and more transport companies are now offering pre-order options.

Depending on which ticket you currently have, you have to pay attention to some special features.

The DGB calls for improvements to the 49-euro ticket - countries want to address open questions

Update from March 21, 2:43 p.m

.: The 49-euro ticket will officially be launched in a few weeks, but there are still many unanswered questions.

The Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) now finds clear criticism for what has been planned so far.

Many groups are neglected.

The DGB is therefore calling for the Deutschlandticket to be expanded nationwide to include cheaper social, student and trainee tickets.

According to the DGB, lessons should also be learned from the mistakes of the 9-euro ticket.

Many buses and trains were overloaded last summer and the workload could hardly be managed, said the DGB NRW South-West of the

.

The introduction of the 49-euro ticket would further aggravate this situation.

In order to attract the necessary staff, better wages and working conditions are essential.

On Wednesday (December 22nd) the next conference of transport ministers will start in Aachen, which will deal in particular with the Deutschlandticket.

The states are trying to find procedures that are as uniform as possible, explains NRW Transport Minister Oliver Krischer.

For example, with the semester or student ticket or taking your bike with you.

49-euro ticket should be offered to millions of passengers cheaper

+

The Deutschlandticket could be cheaper than 49 euros a month for many people.

© Christian Ohde/Imago

Update from March 20, 12:25 p.m

.: The federal states are working to ensure that many groups will get the Germany ticket for less than 49 euros in the future.

The main focus is initially a nationwide solution for students.

Saxony is leading the federal states and is lobbying for a "bridging solution" in the semester ticket solidarity model.

"We want to increase the attractiveness of the offer with a discount of ten percent on the Germany ticket and enable the solidarity models to be preserved," Economics Minister Martin Dulig (SPD) justified the proposal on Sunday (March 19).

Talks between the federal and state governments are to take place these weeks.

As already emphasized by NRW Transport Minister Oliver Krischer, the goal is a nationwide student discount on the 49-euro ticket.

But other people should also get the cheap Germany ticket.

Because the states also want to talk about a general, nationwide uniform social ticket with advantages for schoolchildren, apprentices, students and senior citizens.

The most important questions and answers about the 49-euro ticket

Many things are still unclear about the Deutschlandticket.

24RHEIN answers the most important questions about the 49-euro ticket.

Semester tickets should soon be cheaper than 49-euro tickets

Update from March 17, 4:34 p.m .:

The 49-euro ticket was the last topic in the science committee in the NRW state parliament.

At the request of the SPD parliamentary group, the concrete effects of the 49-euro ticket on the NRW semester ticket were discussed.

The NRW state government has taken a position on this.

NRW Minister of Transport Oliver Krischer said: "In the future, students should be able to access the Deutschlandticket at a lower price than the standard price".

In other words: there should be a discount for students.

If the state government has its way, there should be a corresponding discount nationwide.

Bundestag decides on funding for the 49-euro ticket

Update from March 16, 2:27 p.m

.: The 49-euro ticket has cleared another important hurdle.

On Thursday (March 16), the Bundestag officially passed the bill to finance the new public transport subscription.

The traffic light coalition factions agreed, the left abstained, while the Union and AfD voted against it.

The new law stipulates the financial support from the federal government from 2023 to 2025 (each 1.5 billion euros).

This is intended to compensate for half of the loss of revenue for the transport companies.

The federal states pay for the other half.

However, the Germany ticket is not yet completely in the bag.

Because the law still has to be approved by the Federal Council on the one hand and the EU Commission on the other.

However, both are extremely likely.

49-euro ticket: KVB starts pre-orders for Deutschlandticket – this is how it works

Update from March 16, 11:18 a.m .

: Six weeks before the start, the 49-euro ticket is slowly picking up speed.

The new public transport subscription can already be pre-ordered from many regional transport companies.

This is also the case with the KVB in Cologne, insofar as you do not yet have a subscription to the VRS transport association.

This goes in three different ways:

• Personally in a KVB customer center

• Online in the KVB shop – then you get the Deutschlandticket sent to you as a chip card

• From April 3rd in the KVB app - you will then receive it as a barcode on your smartphone

Since the sale of the Deutschlandticket will not officially start until April 3, 2023, customers will only then be sent the corresponding chip card.

If you want it completely digital, you have to wait until the start of sales.

However, the KVB recommends getting a chip card, as this includes free use of the KVB bike (30 min free ride/rental) and the KVB cargo bike (90 min free ride/week) as well as the advantages of the car sharing provider Cambio.

49-euro ticket: authorities consider Deutschlandticket to be “constitutionally questionable”

Update from March 14, 3:30 p.m .:

In a report to the budget committee, the Federal Court of Auditors pointed out the legal risks associated with the 49-euro ticket to the federal government.

In a letter available to the

, it says that it would be “constitutionally questionable” in particular if the introduction and specific design of the ticket came about through an agreement between the federal and state governments.

the Federal Court of Auditors cites a legal limit from the Basic Law as the background to its concerns

.

There it is stipulated that the organization of public transport in Germany is a matter for the federal states.

The Federal Ministry of Transport had previously emphasized that the introduction of the 49-euro ticket required a state treaty between the states.

"The influence of the federal government is extremely limited," the ministry told the

.

49-euro ticket: Flixbus threatens to reduce the route

Update from March 12, 4:14 p.m .:

The long-distance bus company Flixbus threatens to significantly reduce its route network if it does not become part of the 49-euro ticket.

"We would probably have to cut up to 20 percent of the total offer in Germany," said Flixbus boss André Schwämmlein of the

newspaper.

All in all, "the long-distance bus service in 150 German cities would then deteriorate or it would be completely eliminated".

Individual regions could be "cut off" from the long-distance bus network.

49-euro ticket: the price should be checked regularly

Update from March 10, 10:53 p.m .:

Even before the 49-euro ticket officially appears on May 1, it looks like the price of the ticket won’t last too long.

The federal states recently demanded a fixed regular review of whether the price for the ticket had to be increased from initially 49 euros.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) told the German Press Agency on Friday that the Deutschlandticket “of course has to be evaluated”.

That was also agreed.

"But we shouldn't take the third and fourth step before the first," Wissing continued.

First and foremost, a smooth start is important to him.

But the fact that there is now more talk of the “Deutschlandticket” and not the “49-euro ticket” seems to make a future price increase likely.

49-euro ticket: This is how the app works

Update from March 9, 10:45 a.m .:

There will also be an app for the 49-euro ticket.

The “Dein Deutschlandticket” app is expected to be available in the app stores for smartphones and mobile devices in March, as the developer Mobility Inside

announced on the

According to Mobility Inside, the app is intended to help users to complete or cancel their Deutschlandticket subscription more quickly.

+

This is what the “Dein Deutschlandticket” app for the 49-euro ticket should look like on a mobile phone.

© Mobility Inside

In addition to managing the 49-euro ticket, customers can use the "Dein Deutschlandticket" app to "simultaneously use the Germany-wide timetable information for local and long-distance traffic", Mobility Inside explains the other advantages of the app on its website.

Sharing offers for e-bikes, e-scooters and cars should also be available.

Buy a 49-euro ticket: This is how you can pre-order the Germany ticket

The transport company Transdev gave the go-ahead for pre-ordering the 49-euro ticket in January.

In recent weeks, however, more and more local providers have followed suit.

In the meantime, for example, you can pre-order the Deutschlandticket in NRW from the KVB in Cologne, the Rheinbahn in Düsseldorf or the SWB in Bonn.

This is not yet possible with Deutsche Bahn.

The pre-orders for the 49-euro ticket can be made in various ways.

Either online via the apps and online shops of the respective transport company or by order form in the customer centers.

The same applies to the sale itself. The Deutschlandticket will therefore not be available from machines.

49-euro ticket: What to look out for when pre-ordering

Due to the nationwide validity, it does not matter which transport company bus and train passengers buy the 49-euro ticket from.

But if you already have some form of public transport subscription, you should pay attention to certain things when pre-ordering.

With many transport companies, such as KVB in Cologne, all customers are actively asked if they want to switch to the Deutschlandticket.

Although the price/performance ratio is usually better with this, many additional services such as taking people, dogs or bicycles with you are omitted with the nationwide ticket.

Meanwhile, the companies are being contacted for job and major customer tickets, which in turn are supposed to inform their employees.

There will also be an extra "Upgrade Ticket" for students in addition to the semester ticket.

List of rubrics: © aal.photo/Imago