On Sale from the 3rd... Usable from May 1
Successor Model to the 9-Euro Ticket Sold for 3 Months Last Year
Germany will introduce a nationwide unlimited local public transportation ticket for 49 euros (about 70,000 won) per month starting this May.
The German Federal Council passed a financial support bill on the 31st (local time) to introduce a 49-euro nationwide unlimited local public transportation pass ticket starting May 1. Oliver Krischer, chairman of the conference of transport ministers of Germany's 16 states, said, "This ticket, which will be introduced permanently, will improve the distribution of users among transportation modes."
Ticket sales will begin on the 3rd of this month. With this ticket, passengers can use local trains throughout Germany, as well as buses, subways, and commuter trains. Ticket purchases will be made through a smartphone app, and transfer to others is not allowed.
This ticket is a successor model to the 9-euro (about 12,000 won) ticket, which was very popular with 52 million tickets sold from June to August last year. The 9-euro ticket was a pilot program that allowed unlimited use of public transportation operating within a state, excluding interregional high-speed trains, by paying 9 euros per month. The introduction of the 9-euro ticket resulted in about a 25% increase in public transportation usage in Germany.
Accordingly, Germany restructured the system so that the federal government and state governments each bear half of the budget, allowing the 49-euro unlimited season ticket pass to be used permanently.
While the 9-euro ticket was a paper ticket that anyone, including foreign tourists, could purchase, the 49-euro ticket must be purchased as a digital season ticket with a monthly payment method.
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