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Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.

Factsheet for measure DE-2022-23/2253 Updated – measures in Germany

Reduced €9 monthly ticket for local public transport

9-Euro-Ticket für den ÖPNV

Country Germany , applies nationwide
Time period Temporary, 01 June 2022 – 31 August 2022
Context COVID-19, War in Ukraine, Green Transition
Type Legislations or other statutory regulations
Category Responses to inflation
– Support for other basic items (e.g., food, housing, public transport, medicines)
Author Birgit Kraemer (Hans Boeckler Foundation) and Eurofound
Measure added 12 May 2022 (updated 27 February 2023)

Background information

In the course of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine fuel prices have been significantly rising. In May 2022, the German national parliament (Bundestag) adopted a relief package addressed to citizens, workers, and companies. The €9 ticket is a central part of the package and addressed to support commuters and all mobile citizens, workers, or self-employed.

Content of measure

From 1 June to 30 August 2022, a greatly reduced public transport ticket for €9 per calendar month will be offered throughout Germany. Owners of an existing and more expensive subscription will be compensated. The ticket will be valid in Germany on buses and trains in local and regional transport, but not for long-distance transport (such as ICE, IC, or EC trains, and Flix trains and buses). The ticket is designed as a relief measure to reduce commuter costs and at the same time as an incentive to use public transport instead of the car for short-distance travel. The government has communicated the ticket also as an experiment to see how public transport can be enhanced in the future and contribute to the reduction of fossil energy use and CO2 emissions. The German states (Länder) are responsible to implement the measure according to their respective legal frameworks. They will be supported by the national government with €2.5 billion.

Updates

The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.

01 May 2023

The Deutschlandticket is to be introduced on 1 May 2023, this was decided on 27 January 2023. Sales are to start on 3 April 2023. The Deutschlandticket is the follow-up to the Nine-Euro-Ticket and is intended to be a permanent offer. It is part of the third relief package of the Federal Government of 2 September 2022. The Deutschlandticket will cost €49 per month. This means that the offer is significantly cheaper than the usual prices in most transport associations. However, the price of €49 is an "introductory price". Price increases at a later date are therefore not ruled out. Furthermore, the same conditions of use and restrictions apply as for the Nine-Euro-Ticket.

Still missing are the approval of the EU Commission and an adjustment of the Regionalisation Act (Regionalisierungsgesetz) for the financing of the ticket, which has to pass the Bundestag and Bundesrat after a cabinet decision.

Use of measure

The German Association of Transport Companies (VDV) reported that by 29 August they had sold 52 million €9 tickets. Additionally, about 10 million subscribers to other ticket formats (e.g. monthly tickets for commuters) had received the €9 ticket automatically. According to the VDV study, the percentage of trips with the €9 ticket per month (subscribers + ticket buyers) that were shifted from the car to public transport was around 10%. The average savings in greenhouse gases (CO2 equivalents) per month with the €9 ticket were estimated at around 600,000 tons of CO2 per month.

Target groups

Workers Businesses Citizens
Does not apply to workers Does not apply to businesses Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors Funding
National government
National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

Trade unions Employers' organisations
Role Unknown Unknown
Form Not applicable Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

  • Unknown
  • Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Unknown.

Views and reactions

The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) supports an affordable public transport ticket in general, but calls for a long-term solution with a €1 or 2 ticket and large-scale investment in the public transport infrastructure.

Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2022), Reduced €9 monthly ticket for local public transport, measure DE-2022-23/2253 (measures in Germany), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/DE-2022-23_2253.html

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Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process.