Unsurprisingly, the new transport subscription in Germany, at 49 euros per month to travel on the entire network of public transport and regional trains, is appealing.
While presales for this "
Deutschlandticket
" started on Monday - for a launch on May 1 - 250,000 titles were sold in the first three days, welcomed the boss of Deutsche Bahn Evelyn Palla in Bild am
Sonntag
this Sunday.
"
The demand is huge
," she said.
"
On Monday, we had twice as many visits as usual on our website
," added the CEO of the German public railway company.
And that's just the beginning, she says.
Eventually, Deutsche Bahn is aiming for 6 million sales, to which will be added 11 million holders of a subscription today and who should switch to the new offer.
That is 17 million people, which represents one in five Germans.
This future subscription at 49 euros per month - from which long-distance trains and buses are excluded - was launched across the Rhine following the success of the monthly package at 9 euros last year.
At the time, it was only offered from June to September, with the aim of supporting German purchasing power and developing the train.
It had been sold no less than 52 million.
Read alsoAn unlimited national transport ticket for 49 euros per month: can we consider such an offer in France?
A network in disrepair
“
Like the nine-euro note, the Deutschlandticket is intended to provide financial relief to citizens faced with the sharp rise in energy prices
,” explains the federal government in a frequently asked questions section on this device available on its website.
At the same time, it must significantly increase the attractiveness of
public transport, provide greater incentives to switch from cars to buses and trains and thus contribute to the achievement of climate objectives.
»
However, the arrival of this new ticket comes as the German rail network is in disrepair.
The 9-euro flat rate last summer had highlighted its dilapidation, the result of years of chronic under-investment: overcrowded trains, repeated delays, rolling stock failures... "The situation is so dramatic that there is
no there is no alternative to the general renovation of the network
”, thus estimated this weekend the German Secretary of State for Transport Michael Theurer to the DPA press agency.