Almost one month after Berlin’s 29-euro public transport ticket first went on sale, 75.000 passengers have purchased a subscription.

29-euro ticket proves sale success after one month

Since it went on sale on April 23, over 75.000 people have purchased a 29-euro ticket, which gives passengers unlimited access to public transport in the AB zones of Berlin for 29 euros per month.

According to the Berlin Senate for Transportation, 85 percent of the 29-euro tickets sold between April 23 and May 15 were sold to existing customers who were transferring over from another kind of ticket offered by the local transport association BVG, such as the Deutschlandticket. The remaining new customers were passengers who normally buy tickets for individual journeys or weekly tickets.

Once it becomes valid on July 1, 2024, anyone in Berlin can use the 29-euro ticket. The catch is that it is only available as an annual subscription, meaning that passengers must commit to a 12-month contract for the first year. However, payments of 29 euros will still be charged monthly to ticket holders’ bank accounts. After the first year, the ticket can be renewed or cancelled monthly.

Police union criticises Berlin Abo ticket

Since it was announced that Berlin would roll out its own, affordable public transport ticket, which stands in direct competition with the nationwide 49-euro Deutschlandticket, the 29-euro ticket has faced sharp criticism. 

Transport authorities in other German federal states fear that the Berlin-wide ticket could diminish the popularity of the Deutschlandticket, the future funding of which already had a large question mark hanging over it until recently.

Criticism has also come from police and emergency services in Berlin, which according to police union representative Stephan Weh have had 31,8 million euros of funding cut at the expense of “internal security” services, namely ambulances and police cars, in order to fund the 29-euro ticket. The ticket is expected to cost the state of Berlin 300 million euros.

Weh's critics argue that vehicles illegally parked in bike lanes, heavy traffic and blocked emergency lanes are some of the most common causes of accidents, which could be reduced by increasing public transport use with the 29-euro ticket.

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