The €49 travel pass: is it for you?

[@Jor17th]

Getting a paper form and being asked to e-mail it back with a photo is peak german digitalisation.

[@HeadsFullOfEyeballs]

That's amateur hour, the real pros will e-mail you the form, make you print it out, sign it, then scan it and e-mail them the scan so they can print it out again on their end and file it away.

[@alihorda]

@@HeadsFullOfEyeballs this actually happened to me with AOK. i had to print out their shit, send via postage service then i received a reply mail (phyical letter) then i had send them via emai to finalize makes no sense, whatsoever.

[@scotttokaryk3714]

I came here to say that!

[@derin111]

@@HeadsFullOfEyeballs Yes! The real Professional Beamte would make you return the form in person, only after making an appointment which is only available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 10.15am and 16.05…except on the second week of the month when they are closed on Wednesdays.🤓

[@IzzyIkigai]

@Jor17th I wanted to send a contract to my bank who said email is fine but when i sent the PDF with a digital signature they said i had to print&scan. I just digitally "printed" the PDF in low quality B/W and that one was fine. It's literally so dumb how Germany's digitalisation is obviously held back by some digital cave men in boards and parliaments...

[@NFSHeld]

I will definitely get one. As a German resident, I can either pay 70€/month for my city, or 49€ for the whole of Germany. But even if I might probably be cheaper off with on-demand purchase of one-way tickets, I will purchase the 49€ ticket, to illustrate the demand for a system such as the Deutschlandticket. Because I think such a ticket is obligatory if we ever want to successfully make a meaningful shift towards rail etc. And as per "use it or lose it" I am purchasing the ticket, to invalidate the argument "only 5% of the population are using it". If 40% of German citizens purchase the ticket, it will be harder for politicians and other decision makers to let it run out without a replacement.

In the end, the main problem to travel around Germany is DB, and they're not going to be any cheaper as long as they hold ownership over the tracks.

[@wookie2222]

@ It will not take my monopoly away, my precious! We could kill and eat it! Or.... we could confuse it with tarifs and zoning and let it wait for its train out in the cold or under a burning sun, my precious!!! Yes, this is what we will do!

[@TheZett]

0:34 Ah ja, das Heilige römische Reich deutscher Verbundsysteme, was für ein nostalgischer Flickenteppich.

[@patrickhanft]

My transport association, the HVV in Hamburg, converts all (with a few special exception) subscription tickets above 49€ (and these are the great majority) to a Deutschlandticket automatically. Only those that are cheaper now are asked if they want to upgrade. So there are also some other approaches than what your local transport association does, but to be fair, subscription tickets in the HVV have all been on a chipcard for a few years by now.

[@dirkschwartz1689]

If you happen to have a jobticket through your employer, I recommend paying attention to their information and if in doubt, ask your human resources department. In my case, e.g., my employer offers a jobticket for employees in my city of work which is susidised by those employsees who pay for monthly parking at the corporate sites. This currently costs me around 40 €. After negotiations with the local transport company, they are going to offer the jobticket as a Deutschlandticket at a subsidised price of 28 €. This means for me: Instead of paying 40 € for the local transport association network I will only pay 28 € for the whole of Germany. Great!

[@derHutschi]

@2:11 for Berlin (BVG) and maybe Brandenburg (VBB) the so called "Job-Ticket" automatically gets changed to the "Deutschland Ticket Job" (unless the emploxee objects) reducing the costs from about 50€ to 36€ as the companies subsidize the ticket @3:30 the city of Hamburg is subcidizing students, schoolkids and people of low (or no) income ... gotta love that 🙂

[@youngwii]

At first, I thought the Deutschlandticket was going to be valid for floating month periods, like how Netflix, Disney+, and similar services charge monthly, but bill users based on the date they start their subscription (i.e., start on 15 April, and the subscription renews on 15 May [or 15 April of the next year if users go with an annual subscription]). I do think that this current calendar-month-based pricing might not be the best for all tourists, especially for tourists arriving at the second half of a calendar month and leaving within the first half of the next calendar month. But then again, monthly passes in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada also follow calendar months rather than floating month-long periods.

[@patrickhanft]

To be fair: Most subscription-based tickets in German public transport today are also calendar month based. And yes, this might not be ideal for every tourist, but one idea for this ticket is also to have a long-running incentive to prefer public transport to using and owning a car. So it's not supposed to be convenient to be used "on vacation only", but should be used more permanently. Still, with enough planning and awareness, you can use it for a single month or two-month period as tourist. It's just not designed to be convenient for that on purpose.

[@Korschtal]

Sounds like this may be a viable replacement for my Bahncard 25 as it comes out a lot less than my travel costs between Freiburg and Stuttgart plus my Bahncard subscription. I do carry a bike most of the time but that's on services where bikes are free anyway.

[@pushpendrasingh8877]

Since ages I am looking for a viable option to travel from Frieburg and Stuttgart. I did a lot research but I am not able to find a monthly pass subscription for these two specific location.

[@Korschtal]

@@pushpendrasingh8877 That's because there wasn't one, unless you got a Bahncard 100 I found a BC 25 and travelling on local (RB RE, and IR) trains worked best because you from where I was, just north of Freiburg, an ICE wasn't any quicker anyway.

[@pushpendrasingh8877]

Same here I love but Close to South of frieburg and then to reach Hbf and then stuttgart take Close to 3 hours if i take slow connection 4 hours….so to save one hour if I buy bhancard 100 doesn’t make sense to me

[@Korschtal]

@@pushpendrasingh8877 I see the problem there. Just living 20 min north makes a big difference.

[@Oneofakind123]

I absolutely love this ticket, and even if some months I spend less than 49euro I got this ticket to avoid having to look up weather it is full moon and if Jupiter is in conjunction with Earth before I attempt to figure out what ticket I need to buy for the trip using a combination of train, tram and bus in start and end point..

[@laurentschmidt2758]

For tourists it very much depends on their travel plans and whether they want to go to an area well served by long-distance trains or not. For instance if you arrive in Frankfurt Airport and want to visit Germany's oldest city Trier, the journey will take about 3 to 3.5 hours no matter whether it is a connection that uses IC/ICE trains or not and every second hour there is a connection using only local express trains (RE) - a single ticket for these trains costs at least 44 € - even if you have to pay 98 € chances are that you will be saving money, as you can use your ticket in Trier as well, go to Luxembourg, Saarbrücken etc.

[@MrPeddapee]

I used twice, in September 2023 and September 2024. It was perfect to explore Germany this way!

[@user-sh3xo1gj7q]

I had to transfer to another store location since July last year, which meant I had to spend around 200 € a month for a ticket only valid for my commute to and from work. I'll be able to transfer back this August thankfully, but for at least three months, I'll be able to purchase the Deutschlandticket instead and save over 450 € for that short amount of time!

[@alihorda]

im looking forward to it, using for commuting to work. compared to 130 euro pass..

[@holger_p]

So the problem for tourists is: the ticket is issued for a calendar month, not for 30days or so ?We should recommend tourists to arrive between 1-18th of a month ;-) Cause this ticket is really a game-changer if you are unsure "can I enter this bus or metro and no matter how many stops I'm going".

[@itzspeldrong]

Tourists should arrive between the 1st and the 10th of any month so that they can cancel the subscription before the 10th.

[@MartinBrenner]

It is not really tourist friendly. Tourists really need an easy option, too, like a non subscription week ticket for, lets say, 29€. But as a tourist, you probably know in advance when you will travel and can get cheap long distance saver tickets and buy day or multi-day tickets for local transport.

[@holger_p]

@@MartinBrenner if you want to ignore any other option, maybe you feel better. You rather have the coice of 10 per day per city. 30 per state per day or 50 per month for germany. This was not a discussion on whishes, but on how to use existing things.

[@emilwandel]

Furthermore a lot of cities have tourists tickets which will give you discounts at tourists sites like museums.

[@thehun1234]

In my years of travel experience, I never found any tourist ticket which was worth buying. Most of the museums which are included in the price are either not the ones which most tourists are interested to visit or the discount offered by the museum is not worth the extra price of the tourist ticket. Most cities have 1, 2, 3, 7. 14, 30 days travel passes which are far cheaper than tourist tickets, but the shops get much higher commissions on tourist passes, so they push those.

[@bjrnhermansen6201]

I’ve followed you for some years and been curious about the city of Aschaffenburg. I was in Frankfurt, so I took the Train this morning, and I’m at the moment sitting in the Stadtschänke enjoying the locals with a beer in my hand 😊

[@rewboss]

Was it any good? I've never set foot in that place; I usually take visitors to Schlappeseppel, near the castle.

[@Ross17033]

Very informative, Andrew, thank you.

[@happylifeyoutube]

I came from Thailand to visit my son at Wismar (north Germany) in 25-30 April 2024. I bought 49 Euro on 3 April and cancel for next month. I save qr quote and print out before I cancel. It's not a problem. I can use this ticket and show this qr quote from app MVV and I like the €49 travel pass very much. May be I will travel again for a long time next trip if the €49 travel pass still can use it.

[@kevgoeswandering8488]

thank you Andrew...solid as ever

[@Edwing77]

Tip for getting an IBAN: Open a free bank account with Wise or Revolut 🙂 This doesn't require a German postal address, and apart from being useful in general for international banking gives you a Belgian bank account with an IBAN 👍 (NB sometimes German companies still discriminate and want a *German* IBAN - however this is against the law, and more importantly I don't think it's an issue with Deutsche Bahn or local providers of public transport)

[@carolynalsen3877]

I liked this, at the very least for the excruciating effort in preparing to simply explain this 😀sehr gerne!

[@moenchii]

I'm 100% gonna get it. I drive to a P+R car park and take the tram the rest of the way to work every day. A normal 1-month Ticket is 70€ and a monthly subscription is 57.20€.

[@snowshoedancer8517]

I just finished 3 weeks in Germany in May 2024 buying my D-Ticket through the MVV (Munich). It worked fantastically and we saved at least $350 each over the period of the trip. Frankly this video is way out of date and should be ignored. It was seamless and great.

[@CanonessEllinor]

The Deutschlandticket is basically what I thought Interrail was when I was a kid: a month of free travel on slooooow trains. It may be no good for time-strapped tourists wanting to zip from Hamburg to Munich, but as a weirdo from a neighboring country who’s been wanting to spend a month town-hopping through Germany even before it was announced, it’s pretty much ideal. Well, save for the bureaucracy and the subscription model. But I’ve dealt with Japanese bureaucracy, I’m sure I can figure it out. Magdeburg, Karlsruhe and Osnabrück, get ready!

[@fvwoicgwii]

You need German addy / debit card to purchase, and some apps that offer other forms of payment might not have the countries listed, like Canada and US. And the official deutschlandticket app isn't avaliable in my country. Tough break!

[@Canleaf08]

I jokingly applied for a Fahrcard with the Deutschlandticket from Berlin and got it in the mail today, albeit not being from Berlin or the vincity of the VBB. Let's see what the NVV bus driver and RMV conductor will say next time in Frankfurt.

[@eastfrisianguy]

I find this very good because I am unfortunately looking for a job at the moment and can now extend this to the next big city with a good conscience without having to worry about whether I can afford the petrol every month. The ticket for the 45 km journey with Nordwestbahn cost €189 last year (I asked out of interest)! And for €49 I couldn't commute there every day by car, that would be about €300 in costs. The extra income in the bigger city wouldn't make up for it, the commute is about 20 minutes longer, but I'm happy to sacrifice that time.

[@xaverlustig3581]

Keep in mind, the 49 euro ticket could become more expensive or be cancelled in years to come.

[@holger_p]

The paper ticket is an intermediate installement due to a leak of computer chips, these SIM-Card like things integrated on plastic cards. As far as I know. The digital card itself, is just a commitment for people not owning a smartphone. So just as a note: The smartphone is the default way to use. But Germany is nobody leaving behind, so you exceptions from exceptions.

[@Canleaf08]

The RFID card is modeled after a lot of other cities which have introduced the card as a form of payment, digital purse and other applications. You can expect the card in the Netherlands as OV Kaart, in Toronto as prestocard, in Montreal as Carte Opus, in Stockholm as Access Card, in Oslo Ruter Travelcard, in San Francisco as Clipper Card, in Los Angeles as tap card, in Portland, OR as hop card, in Seattle as Orca card, New York as OMNY card. Even Lisbon has a Via Viagem card. I can't see a commitment, only that the default way does not have eternal battery. In Germany those eticket cards were handed out when signing up for a subscription. All others had to get the ticket printed or via mobile ticket. Relying on a cell phone makes me dependent on the battery. The phone has to be charged everytime, I use the public transit. I traveled many times with the mobile electronic ticket and my phone battery became empty. I ended up one day to buy another ticket on top of my Hessenticket. So I am happy that this ticket exist in a card. Paper tickets are a waste of resources.

[@holger_p]

@@Canleaf08 No, there is short supply. They don't manage to order and/or produce 5 million RFID cards in one month. China cannot deliver. The topic is about people without smartphone. They need to be offered an option. RFID cards are not available for all, so they got a Paper ticket as a 3rd temporary backup option. About 50% of people above 65 are not using smartphones. Is this the missing link to the problem ? RFID cards don't need batteries, BTW. And none of your examples expects 10 millions new subscribers in one month !! The size of the network and the start from scratch for all, is the problem. All your named system might have 2-3 million users, and they are introduced step by step, replacing former paper tickets. Deutschland ticket does not replace any tickets, it replaces some old subscriptions.

[@rogerroger8192]

Im tourist in Berlin, when i try BVG subscription for the 49 euro ticket they ask me an Germany address, and i dont have one. Someone please know how i can buy the ticket? Like usying hostel address? I dont know .

[@mix3k818]

Really wish Poland had the same system.

[@modmaker7617]

Polska jest do bani

[@MirkoC407]

Won't get one - my work commute is not really possible with public transport. I mean, it is - but takes between 1:05h and 1:20h for 18 km one way. I'd like to use it for leisure but only when I know I will use public transport a lot. So as long as it is a subscription, it is not an alternative.

[@LS-Moto]

I like the Belgian system. Its incredibly affordable and there are only three public transportation organizers for the entire country. TEC in wallonia, De Lijn in the Flemish part and Brussels has its own one as well. So when I'm in Wallonia, my bus tickets work anywhere in Wallonia, regardless of whether I'm5 in Namur, Liegè, or the German region - I don't have to worry about convoluted ticket rules and prices.

[@rewboss]

Right, but Belgium is a small country: Wallonia is only slightly larger than the area covered by the VAB, which is my local transport association. The VBB transport association -- which coveres Berlin and Brandenburg -- covers an area roughly the size of the whole of Belgium.

[@RTSFan1337]

For your e-mail issue: Microsoft Lense - scan documents with your mobile (only if the camera is not in toaster quality). Quick and easy.

[@traveldiarieswithadi496]

Im a tourist travelling to munich for 7 days. Apart from roaming inside the city centre, there are 3 places in the outskirts which i intend to travel -schliersee, innsbruk and neuschwanstein. Do u suggest this ticket will be better or i should go for separate day tickets ?

[@MartinBrenner]

Luckily my transport association in NRW allowed me to just fill out an online form to replace my existing pass with the Deutschlandticket - which will be cheaper than the existing pass plus allowing previously paid journeys (already discounted within NRW due to my pass) to be included for free now.

[@sarinsahil]

BTW Thank you for your videos! So if one was travelling from Hammelburg to Berlin? And it has RB-RE-ICE connections. Can one buy one Deutschland Ticket I am guessing that covers RB-RE fare and then just buy ICE ticket from the station the connection starts till the ICE destination? Is this possible? Thank you :)

[@cinematicblues]

I got my Deutschland ticket as a card today. But for my parents who arrived as tourists, I was told by the person at DB-Reisezentrum that tourists are not eligible and it’s for those who pay their taxes on Germany. What should I say now? For one the address has to be proved to be local address too. I find this really weird

[@Canleaf08]

Maybe the HVV can help or the RMV...

[@bachanamikaia]

For tourists, it was complicated to buy this ticket. I've got to mine on DB because I am Belgian. One of my friends managed to buy it on HVV and another friend on MVV. Now, I have a question. All of us have Deutschlandticket 49 EUR but we all have it on different transport association apps because we have different payment methods, despite that can we use this ticket in Munich? I know that MVV and DB won't be a problem but can our friend use his Deutschland ticket on the HVV switch app in Munich for metro, regional trains or buses? If this is a ticket all over Germany it should not matter on which app you have this ticket and in which region you will use it right? He is worried because he is not even planning to go to Hamburg but he has the Hamburg HVV app and the Deutschland ticket which he wants to use in Munich.

[@rewboss]

It doesn't matter which app you use: the Deutschlandticket is valid everywhere in Germany.

[@Keirosqeen]

Also remember last year’s 9€ ticket? Almost every train was full and trains were delayed at least by one hour and don’t even mention how crowded the trains were from fri-sunday, so many people were sitting on the floor, some trains didn’t even have an air conditioner at 40 C degrees outside! It was chaotic like Indian public transportation.

[@Useryoutube1127]

Somehow when I was last year one week in July in Cologne-Duisburg regions was pretty good, not crowded, mostly on time.

[@3Vauban]

As far as I understood, you can only order and/or cancel the Deutschlandticket up until the 10th of the previous month. So if I want the Deutschlandticket just for august, I'd need to subscribe and cancel before the 10th of july. You can't buy a Deutschlandticket on the 10th of august that will still be valid the same month. Or maybe are there Tarifverbünde out there that do sell it for the same month?

[@raileon]

I don’t think that is the case. If I remember correctly it’s as Andrew stated, until the 10th of the respective month.

[@rewboss]

The exact wording is very clear: "Die Kündigung muss dabei bis zum 10. eines Monats zum Ende des jeweiligen Kalendermonats erfolgen." This is pretty standard for this kind of subscription: if you want the subscription to end at the end of the month, you must cancel by the 10th of that month.

[@3Vauban]

@@rewboss Sorry, I got that wrong. So in my example you'd have to order before 10th of july and cancel before 10th of august if you just want the august ticket. Still, you can't buy a Deutschlandticket for the same month, right?

[@rorschak47]

According to one company (MVG) the ticket has to bought before the 25th of the previous month.

[@ljr6490]

They really should have made both the subscription model and the one month only model options

[@ppd3bw]

German residents have the same issue when planning holidays, or a temporary job/training whatsoever.

[@elessartelcontar8208]

I can understand that this is not an initial requirement. I do, however, believe it should be possible in the future. It should be possible to get a physical ticket at any ticket machine. For this to work, nevertheless, it is necessary to formulate and implement Germany-wide standards. This process will definitely take more than a year.

[@Ph34rNoB33r]

It kind of worked for the 9-Euro-Ticket we had for a short time. Though I only saw that from the user perspective, don't know which problems it might have caused (in addition to people forgetting to enter their name on the paper ticket)

[@flyingdesi3324]

If I purchase advance D-ticket for the September in the august before 10th and cancel the subscription after purchasing the ticket. September ticket will be valid or not? Is there any issue?

[@Appolyon]

The tariff system in Germany really is weird. With on demand tickets I'd pay around 16 Euros per workday for travelling between my home and my workplace. With a normal subscription it would be 120 Euros per month. I had a "Jobticket" that only costs 80 Euros per month and let me travel in a wider area than just between my hometown and my work. And now, for 49 Euros per month I can travel through all of Germany. 😂

[@macforme]

Many printers have the scan capability... I hope yours does.... otherwise it's off to a friend's house or to the Kinkos or what ever they use in Germany.

[@andywakeman2376]

Can anyone help please? I'm in the UK and trying to purchase a month pass starting on 1st September through the DB Navigator App. I have my bank details and IBAN all set up but keep getting an error message and try again later. Is there a fault or am I too early to but the subscription for a start date in September? Thanks in advance for any help.

[@carlstein9278]

why does this have to be a subscription!? why can't we just have a ticket you choose to buy or not every month?

[@leDespicable]

Because that would be too simple, and Germany doesn't like doing simple things lol

[@patrickhanft]

Because the idea is also to give you a continuous incentive to use the ÖPNV most of the times, instead of having just a leisure ticket within a summer month while still keeping the (considerable more expensive) car, which you maintain "anyway".

[@carlstein9278]

@@patrickhanft seems unnecessarily underhanded to me. it's like the German government does not trust it's people and sees the need to force them (pointlessly in my opinion)

[@holger_p]

That's a simple choice made. Largest target group are commuters. Either you let the single month users cancel, or you let the every-month-user manually prolongate. It's already a simplification to have only one rule, not both. It would be one of the german deseases to offer too many options for any situations and make buying the ticket more complicated again, cause you have to decide for a subscription model first. To ask this question after you bought the ticket - is as simple as asking this question before buying the ticket. If you expect >50% to subscribe, it's conclusive to ask the smaller half of users.

[@carlstein9278]

@@holger_p i see good point. but just to have the option when you buy the ticket to just check "subscription" or "one time only" would solve that. i am the kind of guy who forgets about subscriptions and i always feel somebody is trying to con me when i hear "subscription "

[@travel10001]

Thank for your video. It looks like it is difficult to buy this ticket for foreign tourists without German billing address. I think only possible solution is find some big city to buy tickets. Hamburg is right direction and hope including US address later. Munich is possible. Frankfurt app is only taking German address and possiblity is small. Please update which app is possible for tourists to buy this ticket.

[@spamnext]

so jhon are you saying as a tourist i can buy a 49 euro ticket on MVV the munich app?

[@travel10001]

@@spamnext there are reports on tripadvisor that success purchase it on MVV with US credit card.

I don't understand why all the hassle, why couldn't they just sell a €49 ticket valid for a month. Like when you buy a weekly ticket. You don't go through all that, it's just a ticket that costs less than single tickets and covers a week.

[@patrickhanft]

It's supposed to incentivize a permanent change in travel habits. It's purposefully designed not to be convenient to be used as a vacation ticket, while you keep using your car for the rest of the year.

@@patrickhanft Do Germans really drive that often? As far as I can tell, most of the people use public transport. And since week tickets exist and they can be bought from a vending machine or a sales kiosk, why bothering with one that is such a pain to get?

[@travel10001]

That will cause German bureaucracy to lose their job..

[@Wendy0120]

Hello everyone, can anybody tell me if €49 ticket included train WBA RB35?

[@tungurahua8257]

It is called Deutschland-Ticket and not € 49 Ticket in case they increase prices in the future.

[@Shadowguy456234]

Das beste Land auf der Welt - Deutschland!

[@ohnoitschris]

thumbnail for this video is perfect for the sharty

[@ricdotdev]

Where do I find the Rapapampam-Bahn? 😆

[@jens_hatje]

I would take the form, add a photo to it, then scan it into the computer as a PDF and send it back to them. Not the most efficient, could've just had a form online and done it that way. But remember, the German business people don't care to use computers so much as some countries in the world. lol

[@ppd3bw]

possibly they do not have e-mail addresses of their customers right now? Strange that they want a photo without explaining what it is for, though.

[@sarinsahil]

Isn't the ticket now valid from 1st to 31st of the month? So one pays the entire amount if they buy it in the last week and then have to get a new one for the next month. Ref: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZPTi3ymo9qLq5Isi=dyg9S7PA8MZ5kXCS

[@steffahn]

For clarification, is this payment model that the ticket is valid for set calender months and you need to cancel before the 10th universal, or does it only apply so some specific ways of buying the ticket and differs if you use e. g. another app?

[@5thElem3nt]

It is calender month. So, if you buy the June ticket on 30th of June, it is only valid for one day. These are the rules agreed upon by the federal government and the states.

[@fubini_yt]

I have to admit that the thumbnail is scaring me a bit

[@moenchii]

Getting that form and having to E-Mail it back is so German...

[@TheCell-vx3pk]

I'd love to use it, but there is no good reason to do so. I can't get home from work with public transport, and even if I could, I'd have to wait anywhere between 1h and 1 sec, depending on when I get off work. And that is IF the bus hasn't been cancelled... It makes far more sense to just get dropped of by a co-worker. And visiting friends still is so much more convenient with a car, and cheaper, and faster, and more reliable. Even if I used the 49€ pass every chance I'd get, a car would be the better option in any case. Maybe, if I didn't need a car it might be cheaper, but I both need a car, and I actually enjoy driving. Hopefully this is enough for people that don't need a car, or that can't afford a car to use public transport more often. Though this doesn't help what DB did (or rather didn't do) the past decades... Let's hope that the money will at least get used to improve bus connections.

[@IzzyIkigai]

So basically what you're saying is... To get you to use public transport we must make driving annoying for people like you?

[@patrickhanft]

Please don't take this as judgement or critique for your personal decisions, but the fact that using public transport is not a viable option for you and "needing a car", is the result of many personal and collective decisions. Your decision of where you want to live, the decision of your community which kind of public transport it will develop, your decision of employer and that doing that by driving is fine and also the political decisions of many decades to subsidize driving to work with things like the "Pendlerpauschale" or subsidizing company cars for private use. All these decisions have left you within a dependency of the car, of which you probably can not get out of all by yourself (at least, as long as moving is not really a viable option). Therefore it is so indefinitely important to change the circumstances in which all the structural political decisions will take place. The existence of the Deutschlandticket alone could trigger debates within your community, how the public transport options could be improved. It could engage people who don't want to be dependent on their car anymore, because they can see, how this ticket could be cheaper and in all other places more convenient for them. We need the momentum this ticket provides to change the debate about public transport being an expensive thing that nobody wants to use on the countryside, because it is slow, unreliable and runs far too rarely to something that is essential, economic and ecological infrastructure. Maybe there are even old train tracks that could be reactivated and that could also be more economically operated, if not everybody still prefers their car that they assume to be cheaper, because the TCOs of owning a car are regularly underestimated. Cars are expensive not only for you but the whole society. We need a political change of funding of transport infrastructure and we need to de-incentivize car use and incentivize public transport. Not only for environmental, but especially for economic reasons. Your dependency on the car is not something inevitable but the result of decades of incentivizing car use and car ownership. To change that, it needs time, but it needs especially visions that things like the Deutschlandticket can flourish.

[@TheCell-vx3pk]

@@patrickhanft I don't quite agree with the first paragraph: Often times you can't choose where you live, as you are born there. And honestly, leaving the country side to live in a city isn't something I consider right either. Most jobs that are important for a society to function are outside of cities (agriculture, industry, logistics). Leaving isn't really and option here. Also it's hard for public transport to just function, however I believe each company should do their best to utilize public transport as much as possible (Shift starting and ending times, requesting bus stops, pushing their weight around when buses are constantly late or get cancelled). I do agree with most of what you said, but one thing is also important: Hobbies. There are many hobbies you simply can't do without a car. For me it's airsoft (it's illegal to bring weapons into any sort of public transport), as well as the occasional LAN party (yes, those still exist), but for me, it's also driving itself. But it shouldn't be necessary to be forced to use something every single time, just because you need it a few times a month. I believe public transport should be as cheap (or expensive) as the fuel I spend. Otherwise there is not incentive for me to use it at all. The saddest thing is that cities and towns are still doing their own thing regardless of the outcry they cause. Just a few years before Covid, my town decided to reduce the amount of buses, and their frequency (especially on weekends), resulting in a lot of people getting cars, that relied on public transport. Often times the people they decide for don't have the power to change those decisions. At least not easily.

[@patrickhanft]

​@@TheCell-vx3pk "Often times you can't choose where you live, as you are born there." Obviously, it is a choice to stay there. A natural choice, but a reasonable one. And I don't tell you to move away from where you are. However: It has become more difficult in a car dependent world to align the choice of place of living to the choice of place to work (althoigh it becomes a little bit better with options to work from home). There's still a lot of counter arguments to be made about your analysis of where "important jobs for society" (I will drop medical and social institutions as well as most of KRITIS infrastructure) are located, but there's absolutely not one single good reason, why any of these jobs should be, especially if they are important to society, be dependent on private car ownership. But if changing neither is an option, there are still options. They are just harder: Engaging in politics and campaigning for alternatives. They don't have necessarily to be a new bus line or train station. Maybe a express bike way and secure bike storage at a neighbouring town's station could be an option. Public transportation is a system's decision and it will work in any environment where society recognizes the econonmic dimension, that private car ownership is always more expensive to society than subsidizing even small public transport options. It is not "hard to function" it is a question of being economically reasonable when deciding what to fund in a governmental structure. While I don't understand, why such things as airsoft guns need to be transported instead of being stored at those locations, where exercising your hobby is even allowed, the lack of private car ownership doesn't mean that you can never use a car. That's what car sharing and car rentals are for and using the right tariffs they are still cheaper than owning a car even when being used every weekend. There is no such option in the place where you live? That's also a question of political engagement. Again: It might be hard, but such things are not impossible. I understand, that in day to day use the comparison with fuel spending might make sense (while economically it really doesn't). But in this case I want to point out, that even then we need to get accustomed to the thought, that CO₂ fees will make fuel consumption and driving much more expensive over the course of the next 10 years. If we want to have the infrastructure ready when people realize that they can't afford driving, we need to start shifting now. You are right, it is insane that cities were still reducing public transport options in the last years. However, it is a direct consequence of car dependency itself. Because reduced ridership due to incentivized car usage causes more reduced ridership causes more car usage. The Deutschlandticket is the biggest chance to have a lever to stress the importance of public transport infrastructure. Don't forget: In a democracy we all have the power to change things. It is difficult, but the smaller the town, the easier it is to talk to the people responsible for those decisions and asking them, if they even were aware of other perspectives outside their (very probable) possiblity to use their own car.

[@silentwilly2983]

The question that remains: Is there a public transportation app that covers all of Germany? Would make things a lot easier if I don't need a separate app for every city/bundesland I visit.

[@rewboss]

I'm old school: I've never needed an app to navigate any city's public transportation network. But if you need one, DB Navigator usually works reasonably well; and I've heard good things about Öffi (although there are a few small areas it doesn't cover), but I've found that one has a rather cluttered visual interface that needs some getting used to.

[@xaverlustig3581]

Öffi for Android is a journey planner for many (but not all) transport associations in Germany and some in other countries. It's not official, but developed by an individual.

[@xaverlustig3581]

​@@rewboss You don't technically need an app, but it helps. It can inform you about possible routings you wouldn't be aware of otherwise, and it can inform you about delays in real time (unfortunately quite necessary) and tell you alternative options for getting to your destination. It can be a lifesaver that way.

[@Canleaf08]

Yes. Oeffi for Android, RMV Deutschland and other projects have apps which cover timetables and itineraries...

[@Inkyminkyzizwoz]

I presume you don't have a scanner?

[@ppd3bw]

Quite likely this ticket will increase demand, but almost surely it will reduce the revenue of the transport operators. How will that go together?

[@semtext44]

The federal states and the government have agreed to pay a lump sum to the transport authorities

[@ppd3bw]

@@semtext44 this may be so for now, but will those subsidies keep up with inflation?

[@VLC8792]

Confused, you will be!

[@BiaZarr]

I mean you can be happy that they didn't ask you to fax them the form

[@danielcarroll3358]

Oddly enough my telephone company has an email address that accepts PDFs and faxes them to the number you enter. At no additional charge they will assign a phone number for you as a FAX number. It receives faxes converts to PDF and emails them to you. What will they think of next.

[@IzzyIkigai]

For me sadly this doesn't change a thing because when I travel most of my trips are for a day or two with the ICE and I for one - with ADHD/autism - would not want to take the alternative regio trains that take 7-8h instead of 2. Would love to see a ticket that is for(exclusively or also including regio) the faster non-local trains, etc. because for some of us a very long ride(be it train or anything, really) is just not just "a bit harder" but actually just not an option and this basically makes the "Deutschland" ticket more of a "really just this city and maybe the neighbouring city" ticket.

[@haukemurr3455]

The Bahncard100 has been in existence for some time now. It already included many regional/local non-DB services and will include all of them when the Deutschlandticket is officially launched. Both tickets are aimed at commuters that use the respective services regularly.

[@smudolinithegreatdragobear2433]

Are you sure that that is how the cancelation works? Cause if you buy it after the tenth of the month you should have until the next months tenth to cancel. Thats how any other subscrption ticked I ever had worked at least.

[@rewboss]

Yes, but in that case you're still paying for the whole of the next month.

[@flyingdesi3324]

If anyone buy this ticket. It should purchase before 10th of the current month and cancel it immediately. It will cost 49 euro otherwise it should buy for next month not current month to avoid 98 euro. Simple

[@johanneslehmann4915]

Ich frage mich trotzdem warum zur hölle man das von vorherein so komplizierte machen wollte... einfach 49€ für einen monat... ganz egal wie das die verkehrverbund ausstellen. Der Bahn-QR code geht ja mittlerweile in den Ballungsgebieten und da ist mit dem wenigsten aufwand am meisten zu schaffen. Alles nur damit es politisch scheitert? Bei 49€ scheinen die irgendwie zu vergessen wie teuer ÖPNV eigentlich ist.

[@puschelhornchen9484]

I can't wait for the next price hike, then it will cost something like 54,39 € 😂

[@SamAronow]

How is this so complicated? *How did Israel do public transport integration better than Germany!?*

[@bbukkegayo]

Agreed. Also, the NL

[@LS-Moto]

Perhaps by not privatizing it.

[@deadbeef16]

Polygo, maybe?

[@ThePereubu1710]

Ah..."German efficiency"...hm....There was a simple way to implement this and then they chose...

[@mrsporty9669]

Difficult and confusing 😢

[@rorschak47]

One danger for tourists is that all the daily/weekly/etc tickets will disappear, as all locals are on the Deutschlandticket anyway.

[@NormanTheDormantDoormat]

No, all the locals who will immediately be using the Deutschlandticket were already buying a monthly or yearly tickets already.

[@42exabyte17]

It might seem to be a great boost and overall benefit for the public transport in general, but I´m still not too convinced that it will be. It sounds more like a systematic underfunding of transport infrastrucutre whilst causing a systematic overload in parallel. Trains and busses are likely to be too few, too small, too crowded and too damaged which will result in a loss of appeal to the most important group of customers in the development of the so-called "Verkehrswende": Those, who COULD own a car, but CHOOSE to take the PT instead. If not suffeicently compensated by the government (which it´s almost certain not to be the case), the loss of income will lead to a loss of comfort, capacity, reliability and overall effectiveness. And who will be the losers? Well, simply everyone who HAS TO use the public transport (like students and commuters) and CANNOT AFFORD any alternative such as a car or a residence closer to one´s regular destination. Their daily struggle to get from A to B in one piece and within a reasonable amount of time will be artificially complicated by those who travel for leisure-based purposes only. The appaling three months during the 9-€-ticket already gave commuters (to which I can be counted as well) a preview of how bad this could turn out to be. My solution: make the 49-€-ticket only accessible to those who REALLY NEED IT, such as students, commuters, volunteers in public services, those who already had a season ticket for many years ect. . Of course there could be a similar ticket for tourists and other opportunistic and leisure-based travellers as well, but it should not be sold for less than 100€ per month (with a more flexible validation time for tourists like in the UK). Long story short: a society should always favour those who keep it up and running, otherwise it won´t last very long. And this ticket in its current form really doesn´t.

[@patrickhanft]

Nothing is as expensive for government to fund in transport as the infrastructure needed for cars. As a society we have allowed ourselve this luxury to have too many people dependent on the car and finance this expensive infrastructure with an order of magnitude more money than goes into public transport. The question of funding public transport is not something the Deutschland ticket will decide, but it is a political question. However, if the Deutschland-Ticket establishes the same status that public transport is just as important, or maybe even more important than car infrastructure, the funding of public transport is not only politically more important, it is also for the government the more economical solution. But you will not reach this status of importance, if you make the Deutschlandticket be accessible only for people with lower income, but you **need** a greater ridership for this. It is NOT a solution to keep the number of people using public transport small. The right economic solution is of course, to make owning and driving a car more expensive so that it can cover more of the cost society has with car infrastructure. But this is not possible without providing alternatives to those who have actually not really enough money to be driving a car, but are still dependent on it. The Deutschlandticket is the first important step away from the idea, that everybody in this country must be able to drive. If this idea is not generally accepted anymore, funding of public transport is really, really easy, because it is much cheaper than maintaining car infrastructure in the long run.

[@42exabyte17]

@@patrickhanft In theory yes, I agree. But the main issue is that the vast majority of the PT-network needs a sudden improvement in order to forfill the task of being a serious alternative. This should have come first, the „cheap ticket“ should have been an invitation for car users (who make up around 90% of all commuters) to use the new, capeable Public Transport. But in the current order it‘s more like opening a restaurant and offering special opening discounts without having installed sufficient tables, restrooms or even a proper kitchen. No matter how affordable you‘d make your menue, it‘s highly unlikely that you will score a good rating that would attract more wealthy customers. And without them you can‘t set the prices up to a sustainable level, and so you‘ll be heading for bankruptcy. I am a train enthusiast (and a member of ProBahn) and I don‘t own a car, even though that‘s a cultural no-go around here (Rural County of Ludwigsburg). And from my point of view, it‘s an utter disgrace how the PT has been treated over the last decades, so much so that one could bring the responsible authorities to court. But this „giveaway“-reaction is no solution in the long term, it may cause a sudden, short peak in usage, but will further ruin the reputation of the PT in general. But then, without the earnings of regular ticketing, there won‘t be much financial opportunities for real improvements. It will all depend on whatever the federal ministery thinks best, but considering their outstanding streak of worsening the situation since the mid 70ies, I wouldn‘t expect much, no matter which „colour“ will „own“ the ministery in the near future. And just to make it clear, my income is, in comparison to the statistics, to be considered as „low“. But I‘d rather spend even more than my current 180+€ on a monthly ticket (only valid within the VerkehrsVerbund Stuttgart) if I‘d get a better offer, for example a „flatrate“ to use the entire bwegt-tariff. To summarize: improve it first, than make it accessible. Otherwise the reputation will take another deep-dive.

[@mohammadfazlehelahi4139]

This is such a fake video. the rules for trains are 99% the same for all states for passengers. No need to learn a rule. You only need to buy a ticket. another wrong information, for my case the regular monthly ticket automatically converted to a Deutschland ticket. convert ticket ost 400 euros suh a fake information

[@liamtahaney713]

What a stupid caveat, forcing people to pay for an extra month.

[@56independent]

fourth

[@chrishalle1982]

Excuse me? RB and RE are long distance Trains. they are may no express trains but long distance. When I can travel with them around Germany from town to town then it is Lon g distance in my opinion.

[@alihorda]

It is always confusing. During the 9euro ticket you could use RE

[@Korschtal]

There isn't even that much of a time penalty compared to IC or even ICE trains on some routes.

[@jordidebont9547]

All trains that don't receive regional subsidies are classified as long distance trains. These are mostly bet not remotely exclusive the white/red trains operated by DB Fernverkehr.

[@rewboss]

No, there is a very clearl distinction in Germany: RB and RE trains count as "regional" (that's what the "R" stands for), while IC, EC and ICE count as "long distance" ("Fernverkehr"). RB and RE trains are integrated into the local public transport system and can be used with local public transport tickets; long-distance trains are not. "Long distance" means journeys like Berlin to Munich, or Stuttgart to Hamburg. You could do those journeys on RB and RE trains, but you would have to change trains several times and it would take considerably longer.

[@Korschtal]

@@rewboss Good to know. Now all I have to do is persuade DB to cancel my Bahncard in favour of a Deutschland Ticket, as I only ever use RB/RE trains anyway. One problem I can see coming though; trains will be rammed in summer.

[@jaegerguy]

First

[@jenslink9861]

BVG (Berlin) send me an email offering me to channel my regular annual ticket (AB) and subscribe to the Deutschland Ticket. Everything online. Already got the money back for the rest of the year.