No longer 49 euros - Countries expect higher price for Germany ticket from 2025
A ticket for all regional trains and public transportation in entire Germany – and for a low unit price. This is the concept of Germanyticket. Currently, it costs 49 Euro per month. However, these times may soon be over.
"Transport ministers and ministers of the states are in agreement that there will be an increase in the ticket price in the year 2025," said NRW Transport Minister Oliver Krischer (Greens) after a special conference with his colleagues in Düsseldorf today. "It's not yet clear how much the subscription for public transportation (PTV) will then cost," he emphasized. The price is currently at 49 Euro per month.
Price for Germanyticket to be determined anew in the fall
There will be more clarity about this after the next Transport Ministers' Conference in the fall, "if we all have all the numbers, data, facts, and above all the political decisions of the Federal Government that are still pending," said Krischer. "As transport ministers and ministers of the states, we of course want to maintain the attractiveness of the ticket. We will do everything we can to make this increase as moderate as possible."
The increase is necessary even if all the planned funds from the Federal Government and the states flow in as planned, it is stated in the resolution of the ministers. However, there is still uncertainty regarding the financing from the Federal Government.
Securing carryover of remaining funds
The Federal Government has finally brought a cabinet resolution to change the Regionalization Law on the way, which will secure certain financing aspects, said Krischer. In this way, the price of the ticket can be kept stable as agreed this year.
The draft for a formulation aid for a corresponding resolution is available to the news agency Dpa. It contains, among other things, the possibility for transportation companies to use unused funds from 2023 also for 2024 and – new – 2025. This was already agreed upon a long time ago. The necessary reform of the Regionalization Law remained the responsibility of the government until now.
The announced cabinet resolution must still be adopted in the cabinet by the end of July this year, the states demand – but not without making significant changes first.
Tentative cuts
The draft currently provides for the withholding of Regionalization funds in the amount of 350 million Euro, which are intended to finance the Germanyticket in the year 2025, to be held back temporarily. Only when the land provides evidence of the use of the funds will the money be paid out. This could therefore only happen at the earliest from September 1, 2026.
"We will thus wait almost two years in this extremely financially strained industry for the Regionalization funds that the Federal Government has long promised to be fully paid out," shared the President of the Association of German Transport Companies, Ingo Wortmann, after the special conference. "This is unacceptable and neither entrepreneurially nor economically justifiable." The available funds are barely sufficient to finance the existing offer even now.
The countries criticize the planned temporary reduction of regional subsidies for the Germany Ticket. "This cannot be guaranteed in many cases for known technical reasons," they write in their resolution. The Federal Government also intends that future price reductions for school tickets, for example, within the Germany Ticket, should no longer be paid from the regional subsidies. The countries would have to bear these offers alone. "This encroaches on the sovereignty of the states and at the same time reduces the sales volume and thus increases the deficit of the Germany Ticket at the expense of the Federal Government and the states," write the ministers and ministers.
The Federal Government, in turn, criticized the announced price increase. "It is paradoxical that the debate about price increases is being started on the state side," said the Green spokesperson for transport policy, Stefan Gelbhaar. "These games must be stopped. Once the transfer of federal funds is secured, higher prices should be off the table."
The dispute over the financing of the Germany Ticket has been going on since the subscription itself was introduced. The transport companies suffer high revenue losses due to the more attractive offer. Initially, it was agreed that each side would cover half of the costs. The regional subsidies, with which the Federal Government supports the states in the provision of public transport, were increased for this purpose. However, there is always a dispute about the long-term securing of the ticket, with which holders have been able to travel bundesweit on buses and trains of the OPNV since May of the previous year.
In the context of discussions about the future pricing of the Germanyticket, the Transport Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Oliver Krischer, mentioned that a price increase is likely in 2025. This price increase could affect not only local traffic but also the use of the railroad system across Germany, as part of the Traffic light coalition's transportation policy.
Regarding the potential impact of the upcoming cabinet resolution, the President of the Association of German Transport Companies, Ingo Wortmann, expressed concerns about the delay in disbursing funds promised by the Federal Government, which could impact the finances of the transportation companies and potentially affect the affordability of the Germanyticket for local traffic.
