From June 1st, the 9-euro ticket will be valid for local public transport. Anyone who uses buses and trains to get to work every day can benefit from this. But the ticket can also save a lot of money on excursions and air travel. FOCUS Online says what interested parties have to consider and what happens to your monthly pass and your job ticket.
The 9-euro ticket is valid from June 1st. It should apply until August 31st. The measure is part of the federal government’s billion-euro relief package.
Consumers can use the ticket until the end of the month. A new ticket must then be purchased for the following month. If you want to use the cheaper public transport ticket for the entire discount period from the beginning of June to the end of August, you pay a total of 27 euros for the three months.
Those affected should also note that the 9-euro ticket is always issued for the respective calendar month according to the current status. So if you buy the 9-euro ticket in mid-June, you can probably only use it until the end of June.
The public transport companies in several large cities will start selling the 9-euro ticket in a few days. In the cities, there is a high demand for the tickets. Deutsche Bahn will start advance sales on May 23. It is worthwhile to use all pre-sale points (counter, machine, travel agency or app).
The federal states and the responsible transport companies want to get the ticket to consumers as easily as possible. Anyone who wants to buy the 9-euro ticket should be able to buy it from machines, at the counter, from employees on the buses and trains and via the app.
As a rule, the subscription continues, and the monthly pass is then considered a 9-euro ticket.
If commuters pay monthly via bank account for the bus and train subscription, the responsible company debits only nine euros each for the months of June, July and August (i.e. 27 euros for three months). This is the case, for example, in Munich, Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart and other cities.
Consumers should clarify in advance whether a discount will be granted on the monthly ticket for the three months. FOCUS Online says: As a rule, all transport companies in Germany pass on the discount to their customers.
Anyone who has paid for the monthly ticket in advance will either receive a refund or free months.
As a rule, the employer pays for the monthly ticket for the job ticket. The same applies here: the discount is passed on. The monthly ticket automatically becomes a 9-euro ticket for the months of June, July and August.
The special ticket is valid for all German local transport. For example, if you buy the 9-euro ticket in Berlin, you can use it on all subways, suburban trains, trams and buses in all German cities.
regular public transport customers
It is definitely worth it for commuters with a subscription to local transport, a monthly or annual pass. You will only be charged 9 euros for the month or you will receive a refund. Many transport associations hope to win long-term subscription customers with the three cheap start months.
Auto-Commuter
In a KfW survey, three-fourths of households that regularly use a car considered it conceivable that they could switch to buses and trains more frequently in winter. Those who have suitable bus and train connections to work, for example in conurbations, large cities and many medium-sized towns, are well served with a change. You save money if you leave your car and drive publicly. Because the 9-euro ticket costs less than 50 cents per working day. You can hardly get back and forth by car that cheaply, even if the fuel bonus comes as planned. Energy taxes on fuels are to be reduced for three months.
tripper
The purchase can be worthwhile for many day and weekend trips, even for some vacation trips in Germany. Newspapers and media websites have long been full of excursion tips that can be used with a 9-euro ticket; Tourists expect large crowds. At the start and end of long weekends such as Whitsun (June 5th/6th) and Corpus Christi (June 16th), the Pro Bahn passenger association expects chaos on the trains towards the coast and mountains.
Villager
The special offer ticket for bus and train is not so worthwhile if buses or even trains rarely stop at your place of residence. This is the case in many villages. According to calculations by the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary Ioki, at more than every third stop you can’t even drive in one direction or the other once an hour. You can also save fuel and parking fees there with the 9-euro ticket, but you have to be very flexible in terms of time.
cyclist
This depends heavily on the day and time of travel. It could sometimes be tight for passengers with bikes on the trains. Because the number of parking spaces is limited. If it gets too crowded, the train staff can decide not to let any more bikes on – even if the owners have already bought an extra ticket for the bike. They need that in most transport associations anyway; because the 9-euro ticket does not include taking it with you.
The family
According to Deutsche Bahn, 6 to 14-year-olds need their own 9-euro ticket or another ticket; taking it with you free of charge is excluded with the 9-euro ticket. Children under the age of six generally travel free of charge. If you have a lot of children and only want to go on a one-off trip, you might be better served with a normal ticket; it includes children up to the age of 14 traveling free of charge.
long-distance travelers and commuters
The 9-euro ticket is not valid for long-distance transport, i.e. neither in ICE, Intercity and Eurocity nor in the night trains of different providers, nor in Flixtrain or Flixbus. The DB long-distance ticket also includes the so-called City-Ticket in 130 German cities: free travel to the train station and onward travel to the destination by public transport. The 9-euro ticket is not necessary for this either.
Yes and no. The 9-euro ticket is only valid for local rail passenger transport. So you can travel all over Germany if you use the regional train (RB), the regional express (RE) or the interregioexpress (IRE). The 9 euro ticket is only valid in 2nd class.
If you want to go on summer vacation with the 9-euro ticket, you need to bring a lot of time with you.
If you want to travel with the InterCity or the InterCityExpress of Deutsche Bahn, you still need an additional train ticket. The 9-euro ticket is also not valid with third-party providers such as the Austrian ÖBB, FlixTrain, Westbahn, Regiojet, Trenitalia or the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB).
Basically, depending on the federal state, excursionists can travel to the first train station abroad with the 9-euro ticket. This applies, for example, to train journeys from Munich to Salzburg (Austria).
But there are also serious exceptions. You can’t get to Kostrzyn (Poland) from Berlin or Prague (Czech Republic) with it. From the national border, travelers must buy a corresponding ticket.
Yes. The 9-euro ticket is ONLY valid for local public transport and not for long-distance transport. So it doesn’t apply everywhere. Anyone who is traveling with it from June should be careful not to accidentally step into cost traps. If you use the 9-euro ticket on the ICE, this can result in a 60-euro fine.
Children under the age of 6 ride for free.
Children from the age of 6 pay just like adults 9 euros for the 9-euro ticket. It then applies to the calendar month and in German local transport. There is no additional children’s savings ticket.
That will not do.
When asked about the transport companies in Berlin and Munich, it was said: “Customers need a special ticket to take a bicycle with them.”
It could be that there are longer waiting times at service counters and machines at the start. FOCUS Online advises: wherever possible, consumers should use the app of the responsible transport company.
There is also a presale that starts in May. The sooner you take care of the 9 euro ticket, the better.
It can actually get busier than usual on the buses and trains in June, July and August.
Supermarket prices are skyrocketing, but we consumers also have to dig deeper into our pockets for electricity, petrol, furniture and clothing. What did you observe? What do you do to save money each month for yourself and your family? Send an e-mail to Konstantinos.mitsis@burda-forward.de with your name and telephone number
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