Well filled: The BRB trains, here at the station in Gmund, are heavily utilized one month after the launch of the Deutschland-Ticket. © Thomas Plettenberg
After a month of Deutschland-Ticket, there is an increase in passengers on BRB trains and RVO buses.
District – One month after the launch of the 49-euro ticket, which is valid throughout Germany, the Bayerische Regiobahn (BRB) has sold almost 3000 tickets. Compared to the figures of the nine-euro ticket, this is little: At that time, the BRB had already sold 26,000 tickets before the start. Nevertheless, the use of public transport is changing with the Deutschland-Ticket, as can be seen from an interim assessment by BRB spokeswoman Annette Luckner. DB, which is responsible for the buses of Regionalverkehr Oberbayern (RVO) in the district, also sees the Deutschland-Ticket as "a strong argument" for switching from the car, but does not provide any regional figures.
With the tickets sold so far alone, the number of subscribers has more than doubled, says Luckner. "Every day, about five to ten new applications are added." Around 2000,3000 of the 20,<> tickets were sold in the Oberland, the rest is accounted for by the company's other networks. The pre-Corona level of passenger numbers has thus "definitely been reached again" and, depending on the route, has been exceeded by ten to <> percent. There are already capacity problems on highly frequented routes, reports Luckner. Bicycle excursion destinations are particularly affected. Plans for a cheaper bicycle transport "cause us concern," adds Luckner – after all, the BRB cannot simply increase its capacities. Not only the number of trains, but also the platform lengths and single-track lines are "limiting factors". In addition, the BRB is affected by the labor shortage.
Despite capacity bottlenecks: BRB is pleased with the response
Nevertheless, Luckner rates the Deutschland-Ticket as "very good" received; The BRB is also pleased about this for political reasons: the greater the success, the greater the likelihood that the "stepmotherly treatment" of public transport will come to an end. "There will certainly be even more passengers switching to the Deutschland-Ticket," predicts the BRB spokeswoman. The ticket offers an "offer that is definitely worth considering in terms of price".
A spokeswoman for DB reports something similar, assuming a steady increase in travelers. Not only in northern Germany near the coast, but also in the mountains, significantly more people would now travel by bus on weekends, public holidays and especially during the holiday periods.
No chaos as expected with the 9-euro ticket
Of course, especially when the weather is nice, the weekends are "very busy" not only for the RVO buses, but also for the BRB trains, Luckner emphasizes. This also brings challenges. For example, the BRB is promoting the use of off-peak hours. "But that only works to a limited extent," admits Luckner. Also difficult: According to the spokeswoman, the Deutschland-Ticket is not uniform everywhere; in some places, passengers could take a bicycle with them free of charge, "and there are a few other exceptions in one or the other network area". Even now, however, taking bicycles with you leads to conflicts again and again.
"It becomes extremely difficult if, for example, because of a change in the weather, everyone suddenly wants to go home at the same time as the train – then we have no chance," says Luckner. However, the BRB does not expect "scenes like the 9-euro ticket": unlike in the period of three months, the rush is now "hopefully better distributed". Nap