The Germany ticket for 49 euros turns out to be an ongoing success. After the big rush in May, the Munich transport company (MVG) alone took out 300,000 Germany ticket subscriptions. 110,000 customers switched from an old subscription to the new one. There are also 190,000 new customers. Just under 20,000 customers have canceled the Deutschlandticket. 115,000 MVG customers have kept their old subscription. Overall, MVG now has 415,000 subscribers. This corresponds to an increase of 60 percent.

Deutsche Bahn, which also sells the ticket, does not give any regional numbers. Overall, however, around eleven million of the cheap subscriptions, with which you can use public regional transport throughout Germany, were sold throughout Germany.

The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) assumes that around 17 million people in Germany will use the service in the long term. For Munich, the MVG recorded a slight increase in passenger numbers, but a reliable comparison is not yet available for various reasons. When the weather is nice, many prefer to ride their bikes. During the holiday season, many also do without a subscription.

Will the ticket potentially bring even more passengers? "We assume that the Deutschlandticket will bring in more new customers," says MVG spokesman Maximilian Kaltner. "At the same time, we expect that passengers who previously used the cash fare or travel card and have now switched to the Deutschlandticket will make more journeys on public transport."

But the cheap ticket also has its downsides. The transport companies once lived off their fare income, but now they are dependent on public money - that is, on what federal and state politicians grant them. There will be no money to expand public transport until 2025, says MVG boss Ingo Wortmann, who is also president of the VDV. This is the case for many transport companies.

The offer must do without major improvements
MVG is nevertheless continuing the new tram construction projects that have already been planned, but in view of the current situation "cannot propose any significant improvements in the service for the next two years," said MVG spokesman Kaltner. "Depending on what is decided by the city council, we can initially only implement minor improvements in the context of school transport and the connection of new development areas."

The long queues in front of the MVG customer centers have now disappeared. From the second half of July onwards, MVG will then also send out the announced chip card on which the ticket is saved. In August, however, there will still be the option to temporarily download the print ticket. Customers who ordered the chip card by the end of June should receive it by the end of July. Those who have subscribed to the Deutschlandticket as a job ticket will be gradually converted and will receive the chip card in the next few months.

Image by Erich Westendarp