Hofheim (dpa/lhe) - The Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) has sold around 2.3 million 9-euro tickets since it went on sale at the end of May. The number of passengers reached the pre-Corona level of 2.5 million a day on average in summer, the RMV announced on Friday. In the meantime, demand during the pandemic had fallen to around 30 percent of the usual level. Managing Director Knut Ringat spoke of the great success of the 9-euro ticket simply because local public transport and its potential were being discussed by politicians and the general public.
According to market research, around 30 percent of journeys have been made by new customers since the 9-euro ticket became valid at the beginning of June. There was high demand above all in leisure traffic on fast regional express connections and in regions that are particularly attractive for tourists. Many of the trips were very busy because the ticket was introduced at such short notice that neither the number of employees nor the number of available vehicles could have been significantly increased.
Ringat called for an expansion of public transport. In addition, it is now up to politicians to introduce attractive follow-up offers to the 9-euro ticket and to secure the financing. Ringat referred to the proposal for a 69-euro ticket from the Association of Transport Companies (VDV).
