With the 9-euro monthly ticket, traveling by bus and train throughout Germany in summer will be drastically cheaper for millions of passengers. The Association of German Transport Companies also sees the offer as positive - but the rude awakening could come in September.
The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) expects prices to increase in local transport after the 9-euro ticket expires. The background is the lack of federal compensation payments, for example for higher fuel prices. "In the medium term, we will have to transfer the missing funds to fares or limit the offer," said VDV President Ingo Wortmann of the editorial network Germany.
"So the ticket prices will continue to rise - not directly on September 1st, but in the next price rounds. Unfortunately, we will then find ourselves in the situation that people who are already charged have to pay more for their journeys." He does not assume that many people will permanently switch to buses and trains. "I see the ticket quite positively," said Wortmann. But he doesn't have high expectations. "All previous experiences with particularly cheap public transport show that the offer has to be right first, the price is secondary."
With the 9-euro monthly ticket, passengers can use local public transport throughout Germany in June, July and August. The tickets are part of the relief package from the traffic light coalition because of the high energy prices and should also be an incentive to continue using public transport. According to Wortmann, the offer could lead to a charged atmosphere in the means of transport. "I don't want to talk about chaos, but there will be a lot of full trains and buses."
This applies in particular to some connections to leisure destinations such as Sylt, the Baltic Sea coast, the Bavarian Oberland or the Chiemgau. "When the trains are very full, there is certainly a risk of a tense mood among travelers and passengers." Attacks on employees are also possible "in the absolute extreme case".
