Germany is trialling a €9 national monthly transport pass

Germany's trial with a national subsidised public transport pass is well underway. The scheme began on 1 June 2022, after receiving approval from the upper house of the German Parliament, the Bundesrat, in May. The subsidised public transport pass gives holders access to all buses, trams, metros and regional trains for only €9 a month, thus enabling users to travel around Germany on the public transport system for a much cheaper price. The scheme runs until the end of September 2022. 

The new pass aims to increase the use of public transport in Germany by encouraging people to try out the public transport network instead of using their cars. The aim of the policy is to demonstrate to users the ease, range and efficiency of public transport with the hope of delivering a permanent move to public transport for at least some of these new users.

The policy is part of a number of measures that aim to reduce German dependence on imported energy, whilst also reducing the national carbon footprint. The portfolio of measures was announced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The policy is expected to cost around €2.5 billion. As an example of the scale of savings that users will benefit from, previously a monthly pass for the two central zones of Berlin cost €86 per month, which also highlights the level of subsidy being provided by the government.

According to the Guardian, preliminary analysis on the outcomes of the policy have already shown higher rates of use of shorter train journeys, so those between 30 to 100km and between 100 and 300km. In addition, in 23 out of 26 cities surveyed, there had been lower levels of congestion. 

The original article was posted on the Politico website.