Munich to offer pupils and trainees €1 per day public transport ticket

The move was approved at the Munich Transport and Tariff Association (MVV) shareholders' meeting on Friday.

Before the initiative can be introduced on August 1st 2020, it has to be approved by Munich City Council and district councils. They are expected to back the move.

If all goes to plan, all Schüler (pupils) and Auszubildende (trainees), or Azubis as they are commonly called in German, will be able to travel in the greater Munich area for the subsidized cost of €365 per year (which is equal to €1 per day).

The ticket would benefit more than 360,000 pupils and trainees. It would allow them to use the S-Bahn, U-Bahn, buses and regional trains in the MVV area.

It follows a decision in October by the Nuremberg Greater Area Transport Network (VGN) to approve a €365 yearly ticket for pupils and trainees from the 2020/2021 school year onwards.

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Markus Söder, state premier of Bavaria, said he supported the idea of introducing the ticket for the whole of Bavaria. He said: "After VGN and MVV we also encourage all other transport associations to implement the student ticket."

The move is expected to cost MVV around €30 million in the first year. The state of Bavaria will cover two thirds of the cost, while Munich and the eight different MVV rural districts: Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, Dachau, Ebersberg, Erding, Freising, Fürstenfeldbruck and Starnberg, will share the rest of the costs.

Giving young people access to public transport

Munich's mayor and chairman of the MVV Dieter Reiter welcomed the decision and said he believed Munich City Council would back the plans.

"From summer 2020, trainees and schoolchildren will be able to use this ticket to travel considerably more cheaply across the entire MVV network, irrespective of their training place or school location. The ticket is always valid, whether on the way to school or in the evening to the club, and is another good argument for leaving the car behind and preferring to travel by bus, subway or tram."

Bavarian Minister of State for Housing, Construction and Transport, Dr. Hans Reichhart, said the ticket strengthened rural areas.

He added: "The €365 ticket for pupils and trainees is a huge opportunity to give young people access to local public transport and to get them enthusiastic about it in the long term."

Perks for young people

Several cities around Germany have already introduced plans to make public transportation free or significantly cheaper  in order to ease traffic congestion and better protect the environment.

In Berlin children over six are able to ride public transport in the capital or free with the new Schülerticket. Since August, trainees have been able to travel in Berlin with a €365 yearly ticket.

Meanwhile, the small west German city of Monheim will offer a free bus service to all starting in April 2020. 

The move comes after the German government last year said it was considering free public transport “to reduce the number of private cars”.

READ ALSO: Berlin considers annual transport ticket of €1 per day