Germany's cheap ticket causes huge overload

[TurboTTC]

Seems like Germans had a energy crisis compensation made by their government: a ticket through the whole country costs less than $10.

But the Deutshe Bahn forgot to bring more trains on the rails so it was a big chaos and lots of bad publicity.

Some people think it was never ment work, since the car manifacturer lobby wants public transportation to fail. I don't know I think it was just bad managment - they should have asked us

[Auge]

Hello

Seems like Germans had a energy crisis compensation made by their government: a ticket through the whole country costs less than $10.

No "seems" at all. It was the Nine-Euro-Ticket (9€ per month) that was available from June to August 2022. With that ticket one was able to use all local and regional public transport services in the whole country.

But the Deutshe Bahn forgot to bring more trains on the rails so it was a big chaos and lots of bad publicity.

The Deutsche Bahn (and also the other railway companies) didn't "forget" to bring more trains on the rails. There was no more trains available within the short time from the idea to the implementation (around two months). Additionally the ticket was available only for appointed traffic services (appointed by the regional and local authorities with an advance of a few years). It is not easy to bring more trains to such an appointed service.

In Germany only long-distance rail transport is completely in the hand of the railway companies and only there a company could decide to bring additional trains on the rails (if available) on their own.

That said, yes, there was "a big chaos and lots of bad publicity" in the beginning, because the ticket started at Whitsuntide, a weekend with traditionally a lot of traffic in the country. But after the three months the public reception is all over all mainly positive.

Some people think it was never ment work, since the car manifacturer lobby wants public transportation to fail.

Even with such a big car manufactor lobby as Germany has, this is not true. This is not the USA in the nineteen thirties. The Nine-Euro-Ticket "experiment" – with all its problems – did not fail, even "some people" think so. Many other "some people" expresses their different, contrary opinion. It's a public, wide spread discussion about a successor for the Nine-Euro-Ticket, that should be available on a permanent basis (against the German minister of finance).

Tschö, Auge

[Redirect Left]

In the UK, a lot of bus tickets are going down in price. I've already left my congratulations on some of the bus company's twitter, celebrating their huge successes in procuring more staff and buses to be able to run the extra services needed for the incoming extra demand!

I'm 100% sure they've thought of this... right? riiiiight?

[Pyoro]

There was all sorts of criticism; like it's just funding vacation trips, it's mainly giving money to people that don't need it, the trips taken on public transportation primarily are additional trips, not replacing car trips, blabla.

In the end, the plan is now to get a successor ticket by the beginning of next year. Nobody knows yet how it'll look - certainly more expensive - but it seems to be happening. Can't have been that bad then

[Auge]

Hello

There was all sorts of criticism; like it's just funding vacation trips, it's mainly giving money to people that don't need it, the trips taken on public transportation primarily are additional trips, not replacing car trips, blabla.

In the light of the planned purpose, to unburden the people (a least) from a part of the raised mobility costs, it served its purpose completely. It is absolutely irrelevant, if one reduced her/his commuting costs or the transporting costs of a hoiliday trip. For example: I have a subscription ticket for my home town and so I had automatically the Nine-Euro-Ticket. I used it both for my local mobility in town as well as my holiday trip to the sea (it was not Sylt ) and I see absolutely no reason to have a guilty conscience about it.

Tschö, Auge

[Pyoro]

The purported purpose was to get commuters, by car, that couldn't or shouldn't have to afford expensive gasoline out of their cars and into trains (also buses, but everyone talks trains). I do think you can argue that that's not what happened, or only to a very small extend. Turns out access and convenience and ... you know, maybe not being summer when many people are on vacation / otherwise not working / working less / doing home office due to corona are more important than the barrier of cost.

A 9€-successor ticket is still a good and arguably overdue idea.

[Redirect Left]

I've already left my congratulations on some of the bus company's twitter, celebrating their huge successes in procuring more staff and buses to be able to run the extra services needed for the incoming extra demand!
I'm 100% sure they've thought of this... right? riiiiight?

Update.
They did not, and buses are even more overcrowded. Yet another great idea, not properly implemented so it can have maximum effect.

I'm not sure how long the lower fares will last here, for a lot of journeys they are genuinely substantially lower, but someone must be paying through the nose for it, and I'm not sure how long that nose will last. Especially with a lot of companies struggling already to keep up staffing levels, with many of cancelled services to make a crowded situation worse, not to mention the UK having a lot of strikes lately over levels of pay, which also occurs on buses, rather than the railways which often makes the news more often than road transport strikes. Lower fares can't be helping the chances of employing more drivers, and rising the pay to demands by unions.

Hopefully Germany has handled this lower fare incentive much better than we have in the long-run.

[Pyoro]

Incidentally, German government has decided (including the market liberals) that the ticket was after all a good idea, and it'll now be on permanent offer starting from January as a monthly subscription for 49€ (which is of course a good chunk more than 9€ but still offers the same: full access to all local public transportation options throughout Germany).

[TurboTTC]

I am in one german train forum and read more on this now - they plan to bring back that reduced price ticket but like 70$ ... that is far away from the original price. The UK needs a lot. Not just a cheaper public transportation

[Chrill]

The UK needs a lot. Not just a cheaper public transportation

One could argue cheap accessible public transportation is just what UK and many others need. Of course, in this forum people aren't really keen on trains so we're probably in favour of reducing tax on petrol instead.

[Pyoro]

It's baaaaaaaaaaack. Obviously didn't make it to the January introduction; it's going to be May now (for real).

Still 49€ monthly subscription for all local public transportation (trains, subways, trams, bus, some ferries, that sorta thing), so essentially same deal as before but 40€ more expensive. One type of ticket (99% digital only but apparently has one exception somewhere) for the entire country.

On the whole not a bad deal. Not entirely sure I'll get it since I usually travel long distance and ... the one "oversight" that comes with this ticket is that it cannot be combined into a single journey, so any potential delays would be my problem. On the other hand, the route I most often take doesn't have a direct long distance connection anymore (this is due to a faster nearby route being completed; I'm not complaining, it's better for 98% of all travelers ... just not for the 2% leftovers like me ), and fast local trains with a change aren't actually all that much slower so tbf it could save some money and I could go cruise around the country just for the heck of it ...
... but also wouldn't be as comfy though so probably naw ^^

[kamnet]

Unlimited travel for less than €2/day seems like a great win for everyone.

[Chrill]

I pay €90 a month just to go to work here in Stockholm. A €49 would be amazing, but we are sadly far too right-wing to even bring something like this up. Sweden's Left Party, formerly the Communists, is advocating for a 50% price drop in Stockholm so that would match the €49, but it's a fringe suggestion that no other political party entertains.