Germany’s €9 ticket has created ‘momentum’ for cheaper public transport.

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(CNN) — Walking from Bruhl city center to the train station, I passed the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 18th-century Augustusburg Palace — one of Germany’s earliest examples of Rococo architecture — attracts visitors from all over the world. Just 11 miles south of Cologne, Brühl itself boasts a pedestrianized main street, acres of parkland and the Max Ernst Museum – where the artist was born.

I never thought of going to Bruhl. I never thought of doing any tour in Germany. I had a connecting flight in Düsseldorf overnight and planned to do some work at my hotel and then walk around the city.

But then, on the advice of a staff member at Düsseldorf Airport, I changed my mind. I was about to buy a train ticket to the city — 3 euros — when he suggested I get an option for 9 euros (about $9). “You can go somewhere,” he said.

The writer went on a whim to the palace of Augustusburg in Bruch.

Rick Neves/Adobe Stock

So I shopped and dropped my things at my hotel and went straight back to the train station. The plan was to go to Cologne, just to see the cathedral — because why not when it’s free? But then I remembered that about 100 years ago my family lived nearby in Bruhl. So after half an hour on the train, instead of getting off at the Cologne station, I changed platforms and got on another one. After 15 minutes I was awake. It was a completely spontaneous trip that allowed me to see my family’s old home.

A trip from Dusseldorf to Bruhl was €9 one way — for that price I got a return trip and two airport runs, for a total of “real” €24. But this wasn’t just a €15 saving – for me, the €9 ticket made me realize what Germany has to offer. Even in less than a day. I look forward to going back now. A rococo palace is not enough.

I’m not the only one. Germany’s decision this summer to offer unlimited regional travel for €9 a month — which ends a week from today on August 31 — is a huge success.

According to the VDV, the association of German carriers, around 60 million tickets were sold at the beginning of August – in other words, it covers June and July.

This includes 10 million subscribers per month who automatically receive tickets, 21 million tickets for June and 17 million for July.

UK travel blogger Alexey Gainanov was planning an 11-day trip to Germany when the €9 ticket was announced. He bought an Interrail card, which allows for unlimited train travel — but the €9 ticket “opened up the rest of the network for us – the subway, trams and buses.”

“This made it easy to get around and took the stress out of figuring out which ticket to get. It also saved us a lot of money during our 11 days in the country,” he said.

Better air quality

Air quality in Germany increased by 6% while the €9 ticket went on sale.

Christoph Soeder/dpa/Image Alliance/Getty Images

And it doesn’t just result in happy customers. A summer air quality study for the Center for Economic Policy Analysis of the University of Potsdam showed a “significant decline in the air quality index of more than 6%”.

Author Niklas Gohl told CNN that the effect was “most pronounced in areas with urban sprawl and strong public transportation networks.” He said it will be good for the future.

“Our paper documents that public transport subsidies, such as the €9 ticket, have the potential, at least in the short term, to promote more sustainable modes of transport and reduce air pollution.”

The project expires at the end of the month, but it has sparked a movement for more affordable, and greener, public transportation. From September until the end of the year, most of Spain’s regional train travel will be completely free.

And Germany itself has seen its forecast of 30 million tickets a month — now slashing tickets to 69 euros a month.

Collection speed

The ticket was heavily subsidized, but another unlimited travel ticket, more expensive, is an option.

Arne Dedert/dpa/Photo Consortium/Getty Images

That equates to 824 euros a year — less than Austria’s 1,095-euro annual Klimatiket, which allows for public transportation for a year.

VDV CEO Oliver Wolff said the €9 ticket “momentum” has created a situation from which we cannot go back.

In the statement, they suggested that the price of 9 euros is reasonable for only three months and that a new monthly ticket be introduced at 69 euros.

“The government’s market research… and other findings clearly show the potential and limitations of public transport climate ticketing as a connectivity solution at the national level,” he said.

“In general, we offer one-way second-class travel with the ÖPNV-Klimaticket (Public Transport Climate Ticket) for 69 euros per month.”

A spokesman for the German Ministry of Digital and Transport told CNN that the ticket is a “relief measure” to deal with rising energy and fuel prices. “The coalition must decide how much such aid measures will continue now. The financial question will be crucial,” he said.

He added that when Federal Minister for Digital and Transport Volker Wissing takes office in December 2021, he will set up a working group “to work together on the expansion and modernization agreement that will be discussed at the conference of transport ministers in the autumn.”

“This gives us an opportunity to make public transportation more convenient and attractive to all citizens,” he said.

Niclas Gohl, author of the air pollution paper, said the subsidy should be calculated in the long term.

Packed trains, but few tourists

Trains are often overcrowded as people rush to enjoy free transportation.

Henning Kaiser/dpa/Photo Consortium/Getty Images

A €9 ticket wasn’t always fun. Travelers complain about packed trains at peak times, and Gainanov has seen a lot of this. “The transport network cannot cope with the demand during an already busy summer,” he says.

“Every train we traveled on was busy but popular day trip destinations had trains that were fully booked and had no seats.

“We literally could not get on a train – the first four carriages were going to one place and the other four were going to another place. We had to get on an empty carriage and change our destination.”

“Many services in the DB network were operating with delays due to staff shortages. The solution for me would be to have the same but outside of the busy summer months.”

I even had a taster, the day I used it. On my way back from Brühl at rush hour, connecting via Cologne, there were two security guards standing at the top of the stairs advising people on the platform. The train was so crowded that some passengers could not stand and were seated in the first class.

Whether these additional travelers are local, domestic or international visitors attracted by cheap public transport where air traffic is rampant and car rental prices are high is yet to be seen.

Figures released in August by Germany’s Federal Statistical Office, Destatis, show that overnight stays in Germany will increase by 60 percent in June 2022 compared to the previous year. But that figure includes domestic tourists — an analysis of foreign visitors won’t be available until December — and bookings by foreigners tell a slightly different story. Travel to Germany on both Lastminute.com and German specialist Enchanting Travels is down 25% this summer compared to 2019.

Inchatting Travels and USTO CEO Parikh Laxminarayan said they forecast numbers “equal to or higher” than 2019 in 2023.

“While measures such as the 9 euro ticket increased domestic travel in Germany, it did not affect our business. A low-cost ticket for public transport may be good for local residents, but it is not. “A tailor-made trip for the American guest is a selling point to Europe.” He said.

Those extra visitors would come from anywhere, Wolff says, raising the price to €69 is the golden ratio — reasonable enough to convince drivers out of their cars, but not cheap enough to force millions of random (like me) trains. -Minute journeys. This plan will cost about 2 billion euros, he said.

The Falkenlust Palace in Bruhl was an unexpected delight for the CNN writer.

Boris Breytman / Adobe Stock

Although it is hoped that the new plan can be implemented by September 1, when the current one is completed, nothing has been announced here yet – and a VDV spokesperson said that there is no time to implement a new ticket in the September period.

In the year On August 2, the government called for proposals to make local transport more integrated. And just a week before the €9 ticket was scrapped, a new eco-friendly ad appeared for 60 miles of hydrogen-powered trains in Lower Saxony.

So Germany will join Austria and introduce Klimatiket? No confirmation yet.

But with the climate crisis escalating and Europe’s rivers drying up this summer, the success of the €9 ticket will no doubt be on the minds of politicians this autumn.

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