Germany's €9 ticket goes on sale nationwide
With just over a week to go before the start of the three-month public transport campaign, sales of the €9 monthly ticket are beginning nationwide, with strong demand expected.
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, as well as several other transport associations, started selling the cheap travel deal on Monday. The ticket is valid from June 1st.
The ticket was available on the DB Navigator rail app from "the early hours of the morning", a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said.
Sales were also due to start in DB travel centres "as soon as they open", the spokesperson said.
Some transport operators started selling the tickets last week. In Berlin, the €9 deal was available on Friday. Up to and including Sunday, 130,000 tickets had been sold, about 60 percent of them online, a spokesperson said.
It’s happening! Got my 9€ monthly ticket for June in the @BVG_Kampagne iOS app and can’t wait for the month to start.
Don’t forget to change the time period you want it for! 🚆🚉🚊🚋🚈 pic.twitter.com/n3365sIPKx
— Powen Shiah @[email protected] (@polexa) May 20, 2022
In Hamburg local transport provider HVV, which has been offering the €9 ticket since Saturday, said it had sold around 56,000 of tickets via the app and online shop in the first 24 hours.
Munich's local transport provider said it had sold 15,500 tickets between Sunday and Monday afternoon alone, not counting online sales.
Transport associations in Saxony, Thuringia and North Rhine-Westphalia also reported strong demand.
In Wuppertal, customers were even able to get their hands on the ticket last Wednesday - two days before the German parliament and states gave their official approval to the initiative.
The Bundestag and Bundesrat gave the green light on Friday for the heavily discounted monthly ticket, which is intended to relieve consumers of the rising costs of living for the next three months.
READ ALSO: €9 for 90: Everything you need to know about Germany's cheap travel deal
It is also hoped the offer will convince more people to leave their cars at home and use climate-friendly transport.
The ticket will be available from June to August, and it can be used on all local public transport in Germany - including buses, underground trains and regional trains. It costs €9 per calendar month or €27 for the whole period. It's not valid on long-distance transport like high speed ICE trains and Flixbus services.
Those who already have a monthly or annual subscription - known as an Abo in Germany - should benefit from the offer without having to take action.
"Reductions will be made automatically for existing subscriptions, so that only the nine euros per month will be charged," said the Berlin-Brandenburg transport association.
READ ALSO: How to get a hold of the €9 ticket in Berlin
Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) spoke of an opportunity for local public transport and climate-friendly mobility.
The German government is ploughing €2.5 billion into states to fund the reduced ticket, and transport companies can also keep the cash from €9 ticket sales.
But states had argued that they needed more funding to improve public transport.
At the weekend Wissing said the ticket was "fully financed" for the summer months - and to provide enough buses and trains.
"We have put everything on the table that the federal states need, namely full compensation for the ticket shortfalls during this period," Wissing said.
"What the states want in terms of more money, we will talk about in the autumn. That's about the financing of local public transport in the next few years. That has nothing to do with the nine euro ticket."
Local and regional transport in Germany is expected to be very busy during the three month period, with full trains to tourist destinations expected.
READ ALSO: What tourists in Germany need to know about the €9 public transport ticket
Vocabulary
Transport associations - (die) Verkehrsverbünde or (der) Verkehrsverbund
Sale - (der) Verkauf
Passengers (die) Fahrgäste
Climate friendly mobility/transport - (die) klimafreundliche Mobilität
We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, as well as several other transport associations, started selling the cheap travel deal on Monday. The ticket is valid from June 1st.
The ticket was available on the DB Navigator rail app from "the early hours of the morning", a Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said.
Sales were also due to start in DB travel centres "as soon as they open", the spokesperson said.
Some transport operators started selling the tickets last week. In Berlin, the €9 deal was available on Friday. Up to and including Sunday, 130,000 tickets had been sold, about 60 percent of them online, a spokesperson said.
It’s happening! Got my 9€ monthly ticket for June in the @BVG_Kampagne iOS app and can’t wait for the month to start.
— Powen Shiah @[email protected] (@polexa) May 20, 2022
Don’t forget to change the time period you want it for! 🚆🚉🚊🚋🚈 pic.twitter.com/n3365sIPKx
In Hamburg local transport provider HVV, which has been offering the €9 ticket since Saturday, said it had sold around 56,000 of tickets via the app and online shop in the first 24 hours.
Munich's local transport provider said it had sold 15,500 tickets between Sunday and Monday afternoon alone, not counting online sales.
Transport associations in Saxony, Thuringia and North Rhine-Westphalia also reported strong demand.
In Wuppertal, customers were even able to get their hands on the ticket last Wednesday - two days before the German parliament and states gave their official approval to the initiative.
The Bundestag and Bundesrat gave the green light on Friday for the heavily discounted monthly ticket, which is intended to relieve consumers of the rising costs of living for the next three months.
READ ALSO: €9 for 90: Everything you need to know about Germany's cheap travel deal
It is also hoped the offer will convince more people to leave their cars at home and use climate-friendly transport.
The ticket will be available from June to August, and it can be used on all local public transport in Germany - including buses, underground trains and regional trains. It costs €9 per calendar month or €27 for the whole period. It's not valid on long-distance transport like high speed ICE trains and Flixbus services.
Those who already have a monthly or annual subscription - known as an Abo in Germany - should benefit from the offer without having to take action.
"Reductions will be made automatically for existing subscriptions, so that only the nine euros per month will be charged," said the Berlin-Brandenburg transport association.
READ ALSO: How to get a hold of the €9 ticket in Berlin
Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) spoke of an opportunity for local public transport and climate-friendly mobility.
The German government is ploughing €2.5 billion into states to fund the reduced ticket, and transport companies can also keep the cash from €9 ticket sales.
But states had argued that they needed more funding to improve public transport.
At the weekend Wissing said the ticket was "fully financed" for the summer months - and to provide enough buses and trains.
"We have put everything on the table that the federal states need, namely full compensation for the ticket shortfalls during this period," Wissing said.
"What the states want in terms of more money, we will talk about in the autumn. That's about the financing of local public transport in the next few years. That has nothing to do with the nine euro ticket."
Local and regional transport in Germany is expected to be very busy during the three month period, with full trains to tourist destinations expected.
READ ALSO: What tourists in Germany need to know about the €9 public transport ticket
Vocabulary
Transport associations - (die) Verkehrsverbünde or (der) Verkehrsverbund
Sale - (der) Verkauf
Passengers (die) Fahrgäste
Climate friendly mobility/transport - (die) klimafreundliche Mobilität
We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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