Deutschland-Ticket off to a successful start

Just over a month after the launch of the Deutschland-Ticket, Saxony-Anhalt's Minister for Infrastructure and Digital Affairs, Dr. Lydia Hüskens, gave a positive overall assessment today in Magdeburg. "It was a tour de force for all involved," said the Minister. "In summary, we can say that the ticket has ushered in a new era in public transport. In addition to the significant price reductions for people, traveling by bus and train in Germany is easier than ever before," she emphasized. What's more, the introduction of the new ticket has given many transport companies a real boost in terms of digitalization.

Orders and sales of the Deutschland-Ticket in Saxony-Anhalt have so far been in line with expectations, with an estimated 100,000 subscriptions, the minister said, citing initial figures. "The number of passengers on our local trains has increased by 20 to 30 percent on weekdays since the introduction of the ticket, which is a significant increase," she emphasized.

On the regional express lines RE 20 (Magdeburg-Uelzen) and RE 9 (Halle-Kassel), an increase of 50 percent and more was recorded. Similarly high increases in demand were recorded on the regional trains RB 40 (Burg-Magdeburg-Braunschweig) and RB 35 (Stendal-Wolfsburg).

"Obviously, many drivers in our state have decided to leave their cars behind and use public transportation more often. That in itself is a great result," says Lydia Hüskens.

However, this only works where buses and trains run, the minister qualified, referring to the known weaknesses of the service. "Compared to the large, densely populated urban areas, there are considerable regional differences. The more densely populated a state is, the better the local transportation system. The cheap ticket alone is definitely not enough to get people to switch to public transport on a permanent basis," she stressed.

"The federal and state governments must now use the modernization push to further improve the public transport system in Germany as a whole," the Minister demanded. "Buses and trains can only be successful in the long term if the service is right - if there are regular, well coordinated connections everywhere and if it is easy for passengers to switch between modes of transport," Lydia Hüskens concluded.