The latest figures from the Federal Ministry for Transport show that 11 million people in Germany have now bought the 49-euro Deutschlandticket. Germany's city-dwellers love the ticket, but sales still have a long way to go before it can compete with the popularity of the 9-euro ticket.

Germany’s Deutschlandticket 100 days on

Germany’s Deutschlandticket has now been valid for just over 100 days. It might still be too early to declare the transportation policy an out-and-out success, but some say the latest sales figures reveal the beginning of Germany’s mobility transition.

According to figures from the Federal Ministry of Transport, 11 million people in Germany have now bought the ticket. Overall, DB Regio had 25 percent more subscription holders in June than before the ticket was launched, and in Hamburg alone, the local transport association, HHV, has gained 250.000 new customers since the somewhat chaotic launch of the ticket on May 1.

Despite its popularity so far, the Deutschlandticket’s 11 million sales have a long way to go before it can match the success of the 9-euro ticket, which was purchased 52 million times between June and August 2022.

Countryside residents are not so chuffed with the 49-euro ticket

While Hamburgers and those in other German cities have been converted, people living in more rural parts of Germany are questioning if the ticket is worth the cost for them.

Rolf Tewes, mayor of Bevern, a small municipality in Schleswig-Holstein, told ZDF that many residents were not convinced by what the ticket had to offer them. “We are actually not connected to public transportation services,” Tewes told the broadcaster. “The only thing that we have is a school bus but that doesn’t run during public holidays or the weekend.” 

These shortcomings were substantiated by Detlef Neuß, federal chairperson of the passenger association PRO BAHN. “There are still municipalities which have more than 100 residents but don’t have a single connection to the public transport network,” Neuß told ZDF. “The Deutschlandticket has not given these people anything, because they often have to travel multiple kilometres to reach the next bus stop or train station - the ticket is next to worthless for them.”

Despite Neuß’s criticism, Greens Transport Minister for North Rhine-Westphalia Oliver Krischer has called the policy a success, but agreed that transportation networks need to be further developed in Germany. “It is the shared public responsibility of the Federal and State governments that the financing [for transport development] is secured,” Krischer told ZDF.

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