The Office for Competition: Progress in competition between rail and mobility services
In June of last year, the Bonn authority imposed measures on the corporation to promote fairer competition. It accused the railway company of dominating the market for train ticket sales through its Navigator app and abusing this position by denying other providers access to real-time data.
Information about current travel is also beneficial to consumers given the "frequent delays and failures in rail traffic," the cartel office explained. "Our action against Deutsche Bahn has brought real improvements to innovative mobility services in Germany," added Andreas Mundt, head of the authority.
Deutsche Bahn confirmed the signing of contracts with two providers to provide this information. According to this, the supply of real-time data will begin on September 1st. However, the railway company stated that it had already shown willingness to share data in line with corresponding EU regulations before the cartel office's decision. The cartel office, however, stated that its requirements went beyond the EU Passenger Rights Regulation in force since June 2023.
In addition to the lack of sharing real-time data, the competition watchdogs also criticized discount and advertising bans for mobility platforms last year. No commissions were paid either.
The railway company has since lifted these restrictions. "Mobility platforms may offer discounts on tickets to their customers, except for justified exceptions," the authority explained. Furthermore, Deutsche Bahn pays platforms commissions for mediating ticket sales and handling bookings and payments.
Deutsche Bahn filed an appeal against the measures of the cartel office and an application for interim legal protection at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf. The court rejected this in March 2024 "in large parts." However, the court expressed serious doubts about the minimum commission rate required by the cartel office and suspended this requirement for the duration of the main proceedings.
"The decision contradicts market economy principles and is not our understanding of competition - at least with regard to the important issue of the minimum commission rate," the railway spokeswoman further explained. A court decision on this is still pending.
The actions taken by the Bonn authority to promote fairer competition resulted in Deutsche Bahn being forced to share real-time data with other providers, reducing its monopoly in the train ticket sales market. The lack of competition in sharing real-time data was one of the major criticisms levied against Deutsche Bahn by the competition watchdogs.
