Frankfurt/Kassel (dpa/lhe) – Transport companies in Hesse have drawn a positive balance of the 9-euro ticket in terms of passenger numbers. According to the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) or the Nordhessischer Verkehrsverbund (NVV), the number has remained at the level before the corona pandemic or even exceeded it.
The federal government had financed the three-month campaign with 2.5 billion euros to compensate for loss of income at transport companies. With the ticket, which is always valid until the end of the month, public transport can be used nationwide in June, July and August. The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) speaks of around 52 million tickets sold nationwide over the entire period.
“The demand for passengers, which fell to around 30 percent of the usual level at times during Corona, reached the pre-Corona level again in summer, i.e. an average of around 2.5 million passengers a day again,” says the RMV. According to a rough, preliminary estimate, an increase in passenger numbers of around 20 to 30 percent is assumed in the bus sector and 30 to 50 percent in train traffic, the NVV announced. “As a result, the pre-Corona level of around 220,000 passengers per day has been reached in the NVV area and in some cases even exceeded.”