The expectations of the 9-euro ticket are high - but at first the special ticket seems to have little effect on traffic. The trains are neither overcrowded nor are there significantly fewer traffic jams, reports Deutsche Bahn and TomTom. That could change in the coming days, however.
The launch of the 9-euro ticket has so far hardly affected the utilization of local transport and the flow of traffic on the streets. This is reported by Deutsche Bahn and the traffic data expert TomTom. "A look at the operating situation shows that it was a quiet start," said a railway spokesman in Berlin. "The trains were not overly busy, but today is a normal working day."
An analysis by TomTom also indicates that the 9-euro ticket has so far had little effect on rush-hour traffic on the streets. In ten major German cities and regions, the company found slightly fewer and shorter traffic jams than the day before or on Wednesday two weeks ago. However, depending on the city, the overall flow of traffic was sometimes better, sometimes worse.
Ralf-Peter Schäfer from TomTom spoke of a "trend of slight relaxation". Overall, however, there was no uniform picture. Compared to Wednesday two weeks ago, traffic "flowed better in all German cities and regions considered". Compared to Tuesday, however, there is a deterioration in Cologne, Düsseldorf and Munich. On the other hand, there was an improvement in Berlin, Stuttgart, Leipzig and the regions of Ruhrgebiet Ost and Ruhrgebiet West. In Frankfurt am Main there is virtually no change and in Hamburg the onset of rain has caused traffic to slow down.
All in all, there are many different factors when choosing the means of transport, said Schäfer. In addition to the costs, these include the weather, travel time and accessibility of the means of transport. "To what extent something like curiosity about the 9-euro ticket or expectations of overcrowded trains and buses or problems with refueling had an impact on car traffic in the morning cannot be said at the current time."
Deutsche Bahn also wants to observe how demand will develop over the coming public holidays. "At Pentecost, the trains are already well filled when the weather is nice," emphasized the railway spokesman. "That will certainly be a challenge for the transport companies in Germany."
As of today, Wednesday, passengers can travel throughout Germany with the 9-euro ticket on local public transport. The special ticket is available for the months of June, July and August and is intended to relieve consumers financially in view of rising prices. On the other hand, the ticket is also an attempt to get more passengers enthusiastic about public transport in the long term.
