Deutschland-Ticket: Higher costs, loyal customers

The Deutschland-Ticket has cost five euros more per month since January. Despite the renewed price increase from 58 to 63 euros per month for the Deutschland-Ticket for nationwide public transport at the start of the year, most customers have remained loyal to the subscription. "We clearly see no wave of cancellations this year due to the price increase for the Deutschland-Ticket," says Ingo Wortmann, President of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV). The cancellation rate was around 5.75 percent between December and January. This is a usual figure at the turn of the year. In contrast, the cancellation rate was around eight percent during the price increase the year before.

Increase of one million

According to the VDV, around 14.6 million people currently use the subscription, which allows travel on buses and trains of public regional and local transport nationwide. This is almost one million more subscribers than at the same time last year. VDV President Wortmann sees further potential. "If we really want to get people out of their cars, we are talking about orders of magnitude of over 20 million Deutschland-Tickets," he emphasized. There is still significant room for improvement, especially with job tickets, where employers subsidize the subscription.

The Deutschland-Ticket was introduced in May 2023. For a long time, the federal and state governments debated its financing. The subscription, which originally started at a price of 49 euros per month, has cost 63 euros since January. From 2027, the price is to be determined by an index that reflects personnel and energy costs as well as general cost increases. The "political price determination," which caused much dispute, is thus to end.

Demand below pre-pandemic levels

Overall, according to the VDV, around 9.86 billion passengers traveled in public local transport nationwide last year. This is a slight increase of 0.8 percent compared to the previous year. However, demand still remains below the level of the years before the pandemic. In the record year 2019, the industry counted 10.4 billion customers.

While the passenger revenue of transport companies has decreased, especially after the introduction of the Deutschland-Ticket, costs have risen significantly in recent years. Electricity prices alone increased by more than 40 percent between 2020 and 2025, according to preliminary figures, the VDV further reported. Diesel prices rose even more sharply at almost 43 percent. Personnel costs increased by around 19 percent in the same period. Wortmann warned of reduced services in the transport networks as a result of economic pressure. "We are carrying out efficiency projects in the companies, but at some point, we will also have to react with service cuts," said the president. "Especially if we do not receive sufficient funds from public budgets."

(mfz)