Deutsche Bahn’s Sparpreisticket model has been criticised for requesting unnecessary passenger information and being poorly accessible to people without smartphones.

Deutsche Bahn accused of excluding customers with Sparpreisticket model

The Commissioner for Data Protection in Hesse has criticised Deutsche Bahn’s Sparpreisticket model for demanding unnecessary customer information as a purchase requirement.

When purchasing a Sparpreisticket, a discounted ticket for long-distance trains which costs as little as 21,99 euros, customers must enter an email address or phone number to buy a ticket. Deutsche Bahn also requests this information from customers who are buying a ticket in person at a train station machine, not just online.

Commission representative Alexander Roßnagel stressed that data protection bodies aren’t against digitisation, but are concerned about customers being forced to give unnecessary data to make a purchase. In response to criticisms, Deutsche Bahn has said that it asks passengers for their email addresses and mobile numbers to contact them in the event of a platform change or delay.

“The opportunity to travel cheaply is obstructed for people who don’t have a smartphone or computer,” said Roßnagel. "Deutsche Bahn’s digitisation strategy is inconsiderate of people who are concerned about data protection or who aren’t technophiles."

90 percent of Deutsche Bahn tickets are bought online

According to the Conference of Independent Federal and State Data Protection Supervisors, Deutsche Bahn claims that 90 percent of tickets are sold online. However, the remaining 10 percent still amounts to nearly 11 million passengers each year who buy their tickets in person.

2023 figures from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) found that 3,4 million people in Germany have never been online. As a near monopoly company, Deutsche Bahn has a responsibility to the common good to ensure that tickets are equally available to everyone, Roßnagel said.

Germany’s consumer advice centre also criticised the national rail company at the beginning of 2024 for selling some ticket models exclusively at machines and not on the internet.

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