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The Germany-wide Ticket is coming in 2023

The 9-Euro-Ticket has led to significantly increase of passengers numbers on numerous regional connections - here on a Sunday morning at Berlin Central Station I © UTM

Just in time for the Christmas break, there was a breakthrough in the financing of the so-called “Deutschland-Ticket” (Germany-wide ticket for all public transport) at the beginning of December 2022. After weeks of negotiations, the federal and state governments agreed that in the introductory year 2023, half of all costs associated with the ticket will now be covered, even if they exceed the projected three billion euros in fare losses.

Original plans to launch the Deutschland-Ticket as early as January 2023 had to be discarded for organisational and financial reasons. It is assumed that the new Deutschland-Ticket at a price of 49 euros will start on 1 April 2023. Like the 9-Euro Ticket in the summer of 2022, it will allow the use of all public transport including regional transport in Germany. The ticket is not valid on long-distance trains (IC, EC, ICE). The ticket is only available by subscription and is a personal season ticket without transferability. 

The Deutschland-Ticket is likely to bring about numerous changes for the 75 transport authorities and corresponding fare structures and distribution channels. A large part of the previous fare structures could become obsolete, at least for monthly travel pass holders, as the price of the Deutschland-Ticket is in many cases lower than the price of previous regional monthly travel passes. Whether a change from a regular monthly travel pass to the Deutschland-Ticket will actually be worthwhile will depend on the individual case on the one hand, and on further developments on the other. A corresponding analysis has been published here.

In Berlin, the 29-euro ticket has already been offered in tariff zones A and B since October 2022 – here an S-Bahn at Alexanderplatz

I © Deutsche Bahn AG / Christian Bedeschinski

Financing security and necessary adjustments

The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) has actively accompanied the negotiations and design of the new edition of the Deutschlandticket. VDV Managing Director Oliver Wolff: “Now the industry has the necessary financial security to implement the Deutschland-Ticket as quickly as possible. We would like to thank Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Minister Presidents of the federal states for clearing the way for the introduction of the ticket with their further decision. We would also like to thank the transport ministers of the federal states and Federal Transport Minister Dr. Wissing. The negotiations were always driven by the goal of realising the ticket, and in the current times, budgetary constraints have to be carefully weighed. This is also in the interest of the citizens and has taken time accordingly. A number of legislative processes must now be implemented in a timely manner, e.g. the amendment of the Regionalisation Act, the approval of the EU Commission under state aid law and, last but not least, the solution of the corresponding tariff approval. The ball is in the federal government’s court. The federal states must create the conditions in their budgets. In parallel, the transport companies and associations will push ahead with the extensive technical and sales adjustments that are necessary to be able to offer such a ticket nationwide and everywhere. If all steps can be implemented as planned, then the 1 April start date for the Deutschland-Ticket is still achievable.”

We reported about the 9-Euro ticket here:

29.12.2022
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