Shey still took the chance: six men from the Rhine-Main area were standing at Frankfurt’s Südbahnhof train station on Wednesday morning, waiting for their regional train to Bayreuth. There they want to start a bike tour, from the source of the Main to the estuary.
The 9-euro ticket that many of them bought for the first time on this – the last possible – day should take them to the starting point. The bikes are transported by an escort vehicle. They probably would have taken the train for the trip anyway, says one of them. “But the low price gave us an additional motivation,” says another and laughs. For nine euros through the whole of Germany: After three months and 52 million tickets sold, a unique experiment ends this Wednesday. What began as part of the federal government’s first relief package quickly gained momentum of its own.
The pictures of punks blowing the “Storm on Sylt” at the beginning of June will be remembered. Day trips experienced a boom, while others even went on large-scale backpacking trips through Germany. Many commuters only had to pay a fraction of the regular price for their season tickets.
But there were also the other images: of overcrowded platforms and crowded passengers. Of people waiting in front of large display boards, on which new delays and cancellations are announced every minute. On Wednesday, Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) assured a successor regulation for the 9-euro ticket. He had convinced his party colleague Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) that there had to be another, more modern ticket, he said on Deutschlandfunk.
“If the 9-euro ticket hadn’t existed, we would probably have bought monthly tickets”: Marco Vogt returned to Germany with his family from the USA in mid-July.
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Image: private
We spoke to people who have had very different experiences with the ticket over the past three months. Their impressions show why the model was so popular – and what would have to change in the event of a successor solution.
Marco Vogt from Rückersdorf near Nuremberg
“We came back to Germany from the United States in mid-July after a year. The ticket was already worth it for the trip from Munich Airport to Rückersdorf near Nuremberg, where we live. This was very cheap for the whole family.
On the following weekends we used the 9 euro ticket again and again for excursions. That was convenient – the trains weren’t crowded. But we would not have taken the car for these excursions, even without the ticket. If it hadn’t been for the 9-euro ticket, we probably would have bought monthly tickets.”
Mike Fleddermann from Remscheid
Likes the idea of the 9-euro ticket, but laments the many cancellations: Mike Fleddermann
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Image: private
“In general, the 9-euro ticket was a good idea; I always take the bus a lot anyway. But really, really bad were the many failures that you had everywhere. I have the option of going to work one station by train or by bus. If neither goes, then I take a taxi – and that has happened a few times. Before the 9 euro ticket, this was much rarer.
But I also used the ticket for trips, to Cologne, for example, or to Wacken and then to Lake Constance. The rail staff have all been friendly and nice, but many have said they really do work on the edge of what they can do.”
Magdalena O. from Lower Franconia
Magdalena O.’s children with their bicycles on a Westfrankenbahn train
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Image: private
“I thought the flexibility of not having to book a ticket first was great. An additional 18 euros per month for my son and I – my daughter was allowed to drive for free – was an additional burden. But we also used the ticket a lot for leisure activities. Because you could also take bicycles with you on the Westfrankenbahn free of charge, we didn’t always have to start cycling from the front door and were able to discover new, beautiful places together.
