Only two federal states want it: social association demands a ticket for a maximum of 29 euros

49 euros a month for trips throughout Germany: What sounds like paradise for some is unaffordable for others. The social association VdK therefore demands a discounted ticket that should not be more expensive than 29 euros. Two federal states are already announcing such a ticket.

With a view to the planned 49-euro ticket, the social association VdK has called for the parallel introduction of a nationwide social variant at a lower price. “In addition to the Germany ticket for 49 euros, there should be a nationwide social ticket for a maximum of 29 euros,” said VdK President Verena Bentele of the editorial network Germany.

Berlin and Lower Saxony have already announced that they want to issue social tickets. However, it should not depend on where you live whether you can use a social ticket, Bentele added. “That’s why we demand that all people in Germany who cannot pay the 49 euro ticket have access to a reduced ticket.”

Bentele also called for complete accessibility in local transport by 2026. All barriers in buses and trains would have to disappear by then at the latest, said the VdK President. “That is the stated goal of the federal government, and the federal and state governments should commit themselves to this during the negotiations on the expansion and modernization pact and create the financial framework.”

The new local transport ticket for 49 euros, with which journeys are possible throughout the country, is the successor to the nine-euro ticket introduced for three months in the summer. The exact date of introduction has not yet been determined. Industry experts doubt whether it will come in January. The start date of March 1 seems more realistic, as the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) announced.

In principle, the new ticket should be financed equally by the federal and state governments, who each want to pay 1.5 billion euros for the project per year. On Friday, the cabinet also approved plans to increase the regionalization funds for local public transport by a further one billion euros annually.