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Author Topic: German monthly ticket initiative - should DfT do similar in the UK?  (Read 2366 times)
grahame
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« on: May 01, 2022, 14:19:45 »

From the International Railway Journal

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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.

Should the Department for Transport run such a scheme here in the UK (United Kingdom)?
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2022, 14:35:58 »

From the International Railway Journal

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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.

Should the Department for Transport run such a scheme here in the UK (United Kingdom)?

At that price, I'd definitely buy one!
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eightonedee
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« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2022, 17:08:19 »

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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?
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eightf48544
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« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2022, 12:12:21 »

Having said I'd buy one, I don't have a smart phone.
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2022, 17:07:24 »

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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?

Suspect it's intended to encourage channel shift too.
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grahame
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« Reply #5 on: June 04, 2022, 08:56:59 »

More about it at https://www.dw.com/en/everything-you-need-to-know-about-germanys-9-euro-ticket/a-61978439

Quote
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» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about)) 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 (Inter City) (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(resolve)) 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.

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JayMac
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« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2022, 12:25:48 »

Such a promotion should be easier to implement here in England once we have the quasi-nationalised Great British Railways up and running. Perhaps even with the involvement of ScotRail and TfW Rail.

The recent Great British Rail Sale highlighted the difficulties of a national rail ticket promotion, with different rules/availability/participation across different TOCs (Train Operating Company).
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« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2022, 15:58:29 »

Press Release from Railfuture

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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 (United Kingdom). 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.”
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« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2022, 17:38:39 »

“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.”

Comparing rather different products .... which is better, chalk or cheese?

The £387.80 is an anytime return fare, valid on any train ... there were six lower cost options offered when I tried the GWR (Great Western Railway) website - three with my railcard, 2 without (off peak).    Which fare should we take for comparison - probably not the £387.80 but perhaps the £116.70 off peak return, or £77 pounds off peak return with a railcard.  After all the German ticket is valid on regional expresses, but not four types of intercity train, so that £7.72 ticket would likely be good on London North Western but not Avanti.
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« Reply #9 on: June 06, 2022, 17:42:26 »

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.
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« Reply #10 on: June 06, 2022, 18:09:23 »

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.

I would like to press the "like" button three times ... Ian Brown would have done so much better to compare to, say, that £77 fare - still "ten times" the amount - and that would have helped UK (United Kingdom) publicity in making people realise that there are some decent fares around.   As it is, talking "£387.80" scares off none-rail users.  However, that's my view and I'm no longer a director or Railfuture; normally I have a lot of time for Ian but I disagree with him on the tactics here, although the message / request is the right one.
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« Reply #11 on: September 02, 2022, 11:43:59 »


Outcome - see here on Facebook
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« Reply #12 on: September 02, 2022, 11:46:57 »


Outcome - see here on Facebook

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« Reply #13 on: September 02, 2022, 12:40:42 »

One of the responses to that Germany Embassy London FB post:
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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.

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« Reply #14 on: October 24, 2022, 15:34:58 »

Update - Fares are going up -

German Federal Government has offered the States £1.5bn towards costs if the States pay the same.

State Transport Ministers now considering two options

a) Eur49/month for everyone
b) Eur29 for some disadvantaged groups & Eur69 everyone else

What a choice....
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