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IN response to rising energy and fuel costs, the German government has launched a new temporary "9 for 90" monthly ticket initiative covering regional and local trains across all of Germany from June until September. The tickets cost €9 per month for 90 days, or €27 in total.

The government has announced €2.5bn of additional funding for the country's 16 federal states to fund the initiative as they receive the fare revenue and pay transport operators. The government has also agreed a further one-off payment of €1.2bn to the states to cover pandemic related costs during 2022.

The "9 for 90" scheme will only be available via digital sales using a smartphone app. As well as offering commuters a significant saving, the ticket is priced at roughly the cost of a typical existing off-peak day ticket for a single federal state, which are typically €23 to €29 a day, making them of interest to many existing and potential travellers.

Existing season ticket holders will be given free three-month extensions to cover the period the scheme is available. This initiative to promote public transport use is in addition to other measures which include a €300-per-person payment being made to taxpayers to offset higher energy and other costs.

From the International Railway Journal (https://www.railjournal.com/passenger/main-line/german-government-announces-e9-monthly-tickets/)


Should the Department for Transport run such a scheme here in the UK?

The "9 for 90" scheme will only be available via digital sales using a smartphone app.

While I applaud the general idea of the scheme - why limit it to do smartphone app sales only? I would imagine there will be quite a few elderly German citizens who might be put off leaving their cars at home and using such a ticket because of this. What happened to inclusiveness?

Who can buy and use the ticket?
Anyone, including non-German residents and tourists.

Is there a special discount for children?
Children under the age of six can travel for free on German public transport. Children six years and older need their own 9-euro ticket, there is no discount.

Is the ticket transferable?
No, every travel pass bears the owner's name. It cannot be transferred to or used by anyone else.

Where can I buy the 9-euro ticket?
It is available for purchase on the Deutsche Bahn (DB) website, and also through various public transport apps, ticket vending machines and shops.

When are the tickets available?
The Deutsche Bahn train tickets went on sale May 23. They can be used between June 1 and August 31, 2022.

When is the ticket valid?
Each ticket entitles you to use Germany's public transport network for one calendar month. A ticket bought in June is valid from the first day until the last day of that month. You will need to buy an additional ticket for July and August.

Which train and bus connections can I use?
You may use all means of public transport in Germany. This includes buses, trams, subways, light rail, regional and regional express trains. Certain ferry connections in Berlin and Hamburg are also included.

Which services are excluded?
The 9-euro ticket does not entitle you to travel on long-distance ICE (Intercity Express), IC (Intercity), EC (Eurocity) or Thalys connections. Other private operators, such as FlixTrain, are not participating in the scheme either. They can not be used for travel in first class carriages.

Can I use the ticket to travel abroad?
The ticket is largely restricted to domestic connections. Certain exceptions do, however, apply. Ticket holders may, for instance, take a Bavarian regional train (BRB) to nearby Salzburg and Kufstein in Austria. Similarly, Aachen transport association in Germany's far west, runs select services to the Netherlands and Belgium, which may be used with the 9-euro ticket.

Britain’s rail fares now fifty times more expensive than in Germany

Germany has introduced a new bargain ticket to entice people back onto their railways, making it fifty times cheaper to travel by rail in Germany than in the UK. For 9 Euros (less than £8) you can buy a whole month’s travel during June, July or August throughout all of Germany on local regional trains, trams and buses.

“We’re laying down the challenge for Britain to do likewise” said Ian Brown, director of the campaign group Railfuture. “German Railways have dramatically set out to get passengers back onto public transport. If an equivalent ticket were available in this country, you could travel from Dover to Crewe for just £7.72. Instead it will cost you £387.80 – more than fifty times more.”

“We are receiving reports that German trains are packed with people re-discovering sustainable rail travel. What a contrast with the dismal state of our railways, where the service is so poor that it’s effectively unusable in whole parts of Britain at many times, with passengers advised NOT to travel.

“We have a cost of living crisis and a looming climate emergency. The last thing we need is a situation where fares are so high that people are actively discouraged from travelling by rail. Railfuture challenges the government to get a grip and start to think of the people who support the industry – passengers.. Time to replace advice “not to travel by train” with a promotion to match that in Germany to get people back on our railways.”

“We’re laying down the challenge for Britain to do likewise” said Ian Brown, director of the campaign group Railfuture. “German Railways have dramatically set out to get passengers back onto public transport. If an equivalent ticket were available in this country, you could travel from Dover to Crewe for just £7.72. Instead it will cost you £387.80 – more than fifty times more.”

It doesn't do campaign groups any favours when they resort to the same stretching-of-the-truth tactics that regular journalists do in order to create sensationalism.

Outcome - see here (https://www.facebook.com/GermanEmbassyUK/posts/pfbid0343GfRcbGxwGATY8GciuFrtVkAWg8EXCrFJQPKmYtJj8M4E1ZcEF2SGjhuS2NFrKBl) on Facebook

Can I suggest the German Ambassador requests a meeting with our somewhat clueless Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, to explain the success of this initiative, and the importance of our railways, before he single-handedly destroys it.