Germany Gets 49 Euro Unlimited Train Travel Ticket
Germany will launch a new 49 euro ticket for unlimited train travel throughout the country for a month as successor of the famous €9 ticket.
Nine euro ticket
Last summer, the German government introduced the 9-euro ticket which allowed people to travel on any regional or local train, metro, tram and bus across the country during an entire month.
The 9-euro ticket turned out to be a massive hit among German citizens as well as with foreign tourists visiting Germany, with well over 52 million tickets sold.
Even though some people complained that the 9-euro ticket led to overcrowded trains and an overstretched transport system which couldn’t cope with the massive influx of new passengers, most German politicians deemed the experiment a success.
The 9-euro ticket vastly improved the mobility of low-income households and resulted in a shift from car to train, helping Germany reach its carbon reduction goals.
New 49-euro ticket
The German government has now decided to come up with a successor to the 9-euro ticket.
The federal government has agreed with the individual German states to launch a 49-euro ticket with similar conditions as the 9-euro ticket.
Although the price of the ticket went up to ensure the long-term viability, it is still an excellent deal for anyone wishing to travel around Germany.
It is not yet clear when German citizens and foreign tourists alike can buy the new 49-euro ticket.
According to a government paper, the 49-euro ticket will be introduced “as soon as possible”.
Ticket conditions
The conditions of the new 49-euro ticket will be the same as the €9 ticket.
Although the 49-euro ticket allows for unlimited travel during an entire month, you can solely use it on regional and local trains, as well as on city buses, trams, metros and other such transport links.
The ticket cannot be used to travel on long-distance and high-speed trains such as InterCity Express (ICE), InterCity (IC) and EuroCity (EC) trains.
When the 49-euro ticket will be made available, both German citizens as well as foreign tourists will be able to buy it online (as a PDF e-ticket) or in paper form at any train station or other public transport ticket sales point.
Conclusion
Germany will soon get a 49-euro ticket which will give you a month of unlimited travel on local and regional trains, buses, trams and metros across the entire country.
It’s a successor to the 9-euro ticket which was an enormous hit last summer with both Germans and foreign tourists alike.
Needless to say, there is a lot of discussion in Germany whether or not it is worth the taxpayers’ money in the first place.
Besides that, there are lively arguments whether the price and conditions of the 49-euro ticket are indeed the best possible compromise between keeping ticket costs low enough for it to result in a shift from road to rail while ensuring that public transport companies such as the Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) can actually cope with the increase in passenger numbers.
As I don’t live in Germany and politics is beyond the scope of this website, I’m not in a position to comment much on this.
However, from a foreign perspective I think the 49-euro ticket will be a great-value travel deal for foreign travellers wishing to visit Germany, making the country a more attractive destination.
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You missed to mention a major difference compared to the 9€ ticket: the new 49€ ticket will be only offered as a subscription. While there will be the option to cancel each month the purchase will not be as easy as the 9€ ticket.
Many people complain that 49 Euro per month is too expensive and that many people with low income or even jobless people won’t be able to afford it. I find this complains audacious. Yes, there will be people with low income that won’t be able to afford the ticket but with all honesty: are they able to afford the tickets now? I doubt because in most regions one pays a lot more than just 49 euro and this ticket is limited to a specific region. There will be many people who will now be able to afford this monthly pass, who weren’t able before. While I agree that 49 euro is still a heap of money for those with extreme low income, it’s a step in the right direction and helps a lot of people (just for comparison: I pay 110 euro/month now for being allowed to use the PT in a very limited region around my home) . So those who complain: stop for a moment and take a moment to look at the full picture and not limit the view to yourself.