9 euro ticket is coming – beware of these misconceptions

Many people in Germany are looking forward to the 9-euro ticket, as it promises the use of public transport at a reasonable price.

The simplicity of being able to go practically anywhere at a fixed price is particularly appealing. But that’s exactly the problem: the 9-euro ticket is not valid “everywhere” and anyone who is traveling with it from June should be careful not to accidentally step into cost traps.

• long-distance:
  The biggest misconception about the 9 euro ticket is its validity. “All over Germany”, but only in “local and regional transport”. So you can use the subway in Hamburg, take the S-Bahn in Munich or take the bus in Berlin. Traveling with ICE, IC, EC and ECE is not included in the 9-euro ticket. However, if you shimmy from regional train to regional train, you can certainly cover longer distances. The app

  DB Navigator
  supports you in planning your trip.

• Flixtrain:
  Travel with Flixtrain is also not included in the 9-euro ticket.

• Abroad:
  German tickets are sometimes also valid abroad, for example when traveling from Munich to Salzburg. These special trips are also covered by the 9-euro ticket. But such regulations do not exist for all regional trains. So if you want to go abroad, you absolutely have to find out in advance whether the 9-euro ticket also covers the route outside of Germany.

• 1st Class:
  The 9-euro ticket is valid for journeys in 2nd class. So the 1st class is not covered.

• Children:
  The 9-euro ticket is personal, i.e. each person needs a ticket. Exceptions are children up to 6 years of age, who do not need a ticket. You cannot take older children with you with your 9-euro ticket, the kids need their own 9-euro ticket. There is no other discount for children or for families.

• Cycles:
  The €9 ticket also does not cover taking bicycles on public transport.

• Ferries:
  Some ferries are part of the public transport in Berlin and Hamburg, for example. You can also use them with the 9-euro ticket. But there are also ferries for which this does not apply. Find out in advance whether you need an additional ticket.

• Ticket purchase:
  Be careful when buying tickets. Some transport companies have already announced that they want to disable ticket options for the three months on machines and in apps where customers pay too much. However, group or family tickets should still be available, so you have to compare for yourself whether the 9-euro ticket is worth it.

The original of this post “9 euro ticket is coming – beware of these misunderstandings” comes from chip.de.