Doomsayers warned of a collapse in rail traffic as a result of the 9-euro ticket. But the collapse does not happen on the second weekend either. However, a region to the Baltic Sea has to wait in the station because of overcrowding. Passengers with bicycles must leave the train.
On the second weekend with a 9-euro ticket, Deutsche Bahn reported a largely regular volume of traffic. Rail traffic is stable, said a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn in Berlin in the afternoon. However, there is the expected number of passengers, especially on tourist routes throughout the country.
In Berlin, for example, an overcrowded regional train towards the Baltic Sea could only depart at Gesundbrunnen station in the morning with a delay. First, employees of the railway had to ask passengers to get off. This also affected passengers who were traveling with bicycles.
The discount campaign started at the beginning of June. The 9-euro ticket is intended to support commuters and also help to persuade new users to switch to local public transport on a permanent basis. Several regional express lines to the Baltic Sea were extended over Pentecost, additional trains are being examined for the holidays, but there are not many reserves. Several lines will also be affected by construction work during the campaign.
According to a survey, more than 40 percent of all adult Germans rate the 9-euro ticket positively. This was the result of a representative survey by the opinion research institute Civey among 10,000 citizens on behalf of the Eon Foundation. According to this, 43 percent of the German citizens surveyed see the introduction positively, 38 percent see a negative measure by the federal government.
The rejection of the ticket is greatest in structurally weak and sparsely populated regions. “The districts with the lowest approval rate include the Mecklenburg Lake District, East Frisia and parts of Franconia,” said a spokesman. In densely populated regions such as Hamburg, Berlin and the Ruhr area, on the other hand, the measure was clearly approved by more than 50 percent of those surveyed.
The tank discount, which was also introduced for three months, was viewed by only 6 percent of those surveyed as the most sensible measure to reduce financial burdens. The managing director of the Eon Foundation, Stephan Muschick, spoke in connection with the survey results of a split in the different mobility needs between town and country. “While people in the cities get their monthly passes for three months as a gift, the desired reduction in the price of petrol does not go down well in the countryside.”
(This article was first published on Saturday, June 11, 2022.)
