Germany's Popular Public Transit Ticket to See Price Hike: Transportation Ministers Announce 18% Increase

The price of the Germany Ticket, which allows for unlimited travel on all local and regional public transportation across Germany, is set to increase by 18% in 2025. The ticket, which has been priced at 49 euros per month since May 2023, will rise to 58 euros. Officials cite the need to maintain the attractiveness of the ticket and secure more stable financing as reasons for the increase.

The cost of a popular ticket that grants access to all local and regional trains, buses, and subway systems across Germany is set to rise by approximately 18% next year, a senior official revealed on Monday.

Transport ministers from Germany's 16 states concurred that the Germany Ticket, priced at 49 euros ($54.70) per month since its launch in May 2023, should be increased to 58 euros starting from early 2025. "With this price, we will manage to keep the ticket attractive and put the financing on a more solid footing," stated Oliver Krischer, the transport minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, to German news agency dpa. He added that the decision demonstrates regional authorities' commitment to the Germany Ticket model.

The Germany Ticket was introduced to encourage the use of environmentally friendly transportation and was inspired by a successful 9-euro monthly experimental ticket offered during the summer of 2022. Officials noted that while the ultra-low price was financially unsustainable, both ticket versions simplified a complex public transit system and proved popular. Currently, about 13 million people out of Germany's 83 million population use the Germany Ticket. Nonetheless, Bavaria's transport minister, Christian Bernreiter, deemed a price increase "unavoidable" due to sales falling short of expectations and the risk of a significant financing deficit next year.

(With inputs from agencies.)