In 2022, German public transport users were the envy of pretty much everyone, everywhere. In order to promote sustainable travel and help out with the cost of living crisis, Germany’s government introduced monthly tickets for near-unlimited public transport usage that cost just €9 (£7.86, £8.80)! Mental stuff, we know.
That scheme ended in August 2022, but the German government worked on a follow-up and launched a pass costing just €49 (£43, $48) per month in May 2023. And excitingly, the government have just announced it will continue throughout 2024, at the same incredible price.
Sure, compared to the €9 ticket, the ‘Deutschlandticket’ might sound expensive – but it still works out really, really cheap. For reference, if you wanted to get a cheap train ticket from Berlin to Hamburg before the ticket launched, using only local trains, it’d cost you at least €35 (£31, $34). With the new pass, you’ll be able to do as many of those journeys as you want for under €2 (£1.75, £1.96) per day.
The pass has similar criteria to the €9 ticket in that it’s available to visitors but won’t cover high-speed Inter-City Express (ICE) trains. The €49 ticket is available to buy as part of a monthly subscription that can be cancelled at any time.
The idea, again, is to cut CO2 emissions and help out Germans with the cost of living crisis. In June, July and August 2022, a whopping 50 million €9 passes were sold, covering one billion trips every month and saving 1.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. Who can argue with those kinds of numbers, eh?
The fact the government has put more funding into the scheme proves just how popular it’s been. The price and continuation of the scheme will be re-evaluated for 2025, but you can enjoy super-affordable month-long jaunts around Deutschland for at least the next 11 months!
Did you see Europe’s greenest countries have been named for 2024?
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