Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – The introduction of the 9-euro ticket has also led to a sharp increase in passenger numbers in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to projections by traffic experts, the numbers here in June and July increased by 32 to 40 percent on weekdays compared to May, and by as much as 44 to 51 percent on weekends. This emerges from a response from the Düsseldorf Ministry of Transport published on Wednesday to a request from the FDP parliamentary group. No data is currently available for August.
According to estimates by the Integral Timetable Competence Center, the number of passengers in summer even rose significantly above the pre-Corona level of 2019, the ministry reported. This was particularly evident on the weekends: while demand on Saturdays in May was twelve percent lower than three years earlier, it was 52 percent higher in June and July.
According to the sales statistics of the Association of German Transport Companies, 82 million 9-euro tickets were sold throughout Germany, the ministry said. 30 percent of these were existing tickets, the price of which was capped at nine euros for three months. However, these sales figures were not broken down by federal state.
So far, almost 246 million euros from federal funds have flowed to the transport authorities in NRW to compensate for financial disadvantages from the 9-euro ticket and around 2.6 million directly to the transport companies. Additional state funds were not used.
The question of whether and when there will be a nationwide successor model and what funding might look like has not yet been clarified between the federal and state governments.
