Federal Council agrees to financing: Germany-wide 49-euro ticket is coming

Federal Council approves financing
Nationwide 49-euro ticket is coming

03/31/2023, 11:20 am

An end to the jungle of tariffs for public transport companies – this is what the “Deutschlandticket” should ensure from May 1st. Funding is now secured. Customers can then use buses and trains nationwide for 49 euros.

The way for the start of the 49-euro ticket for millions of passengers in the nationwide public transport on May 1st is clear. After the Bundestag, the Bundesrat also approved a financing law. The start of sales is already planned for this Monday. According to the law, the federal government will provide 1.5 billion euros from 2023 to 2025 to compensate for half of the loss of revenue from transport providers due to the low ticket price. The federal states should pay for the other half.

The “Deutschlandticket” is to start on May 1st with an introductory price of 49 euros per month and tie in with the popular 9-euro ticket from summer 2022. A digitally bookable, monthly terminable subscription is planned, which is valid on buses and trains throughout Germany. According to the Federal Ministry of Transport, formal approval from the EU Commission is not required. The Deutschlandticket is intended to make local public transport more attractive in terms of price and encourage people to switch from cars to buses and trains. Subsequent ticket price increases are possible.

In the past few weeks, many transport companies have already taken pre-orders for the new ticket. Brandenburg’s Transport Minister Guido Beermann called the 49-euro ticket an extremely attractive offer in terms of price. He called on the federal government to integrate the Bahncard 50 into the Deutschlandticket. That would create a clear incentive to switch from cars to trains, even in long-distance transport. Saxony’s Minister of Transport, Martin Dulig, warned of fragmentation with the ticket. There must be as nationwide uniform regulations as possible for everything to do with tickets, for example for students or when taking bicycles with you. Hesse’s Minister of Transport, Tarek Al-Wazir, spoke of the biggest revolution in buses and trains in decades: “One ticket, one price, all of Germany.” However, infrastructure needs to be expanded. The federal states have long been demanding a significant increase in federal funds.

The federal government’s railway commissioner, Secretary of State for Transport Michael Theurer, called the Deutschlandticket a huge step forward for people. Bremen’s mobility senator Maike Schaefer said the ticket was nothing less than the end of small-scale public transport and the jungle of tariffs. The 49-euro ticket is a milestone on the way to a mobility revolution and a contribution to climate protection. In 2022, CO2 emissions in the transport sector had increased compared to the previous year, and the annual emissions permitted under the Federal Climate Protection Act were exceeded. Experts see a large gap in achieving climate goals in the medium and long term.