Bahn: “Demand is enormous”
250,000 Germany tickets sold in three days
4/9/2023 8:23 am
The Deutschlandticket is valid from May. But you can buy it since Monday. According to Deutsche Bahn, the rush for the 49-euro subscription is enormous. Transport associations expect more than five million new customers. However, there is also criticism of the offer.
In the first few days after the start of sales, Deutsche Bahn registered great demand for the 49-euro subscription for local and regional public transport. “The demand is enormous. In the first three days of advance sales, 250,000 Germany tickets were bought from the railways alone,” says regional transport director Evelyn Palla of “Bild am Sonntag”. “On Monday we had twice as many hits as we normally do on our website.”
The sale of the ticket, which is valid from May, began last Monday. It can also be purchased from all other regional transport companies and associations.
The new Deutschlandticket enables nationwide journeys in the buses and trains of local and regional public transport. It is only available as a monthly subscription and is issued as a chip card or mobile phone ticket. Paper tickets will also be available temporarily until the end of the year, but they must be digitally controllable. The paper solution was introduced for associations that still need some time for digitization. The subscription is intended to make regional and local public transport more attractive and affordable.
However, there is also criticism of the offer. Last year, the high demand for the 9-euro ticket had already pushed local public transport to its limits and beyond. “Buses and trains are already jam-packed, especially at peak times, the supply in rural areas is meager, and there is a lack of staff everywhere,” said Stefan Körzell, a member of the board of the German Trade Union Confederation. The top priority is therefore to provide enough money for local public transport. The Association of German Transport Companies assumes that the Deutschlandticket will bring around 5.6 million new customers. According to the forecast, eleven million existing subscription customers will switch to the 49-euro subscription model.
Above all, passenger associations such as Pro Bahn are demanding an expansion of the infrastructure and more vehicles and staff in order to be able to meet the high demand at all. Even free local transport is of no use if the quality of the offer is not right, emphasized recently the Pro-Bahn honorary chairman, Karl-Peter Naumann. “Germany now needs an expansion offensive for buses and trains so that this ticket becomes a real alternative to their own car for more people,” said Marion Tiemann, mobility expert at Greenpeace.