Hannover /Bremen (dpa / lni) – A significant number of commuters, holidaymakers and rail customers in the north-west have already purchased flat-rate tickets before the official start of the € 9 ticket in early June. Several local transport companies have spoken of high demand since the start of pre-sales on Monday, even though more accurate data from the online, vending machine and cash register business is still often needed. However, there are indications that the subsidized ticket has generated a great deal of interest after the federal and state governments have so far been able to resolve the funding dispute at the end of last week.
The Hanover Regional Transport Association GVH reported in the afternoon that no details were available yet. However, there is already a trend: “a lot of people want a 9-euro ticket, there have been long queues at the customer center this morning.”
Several hundred purchases were recorded in the morning. “We’ve also noticed a lot of activity at vending machines and through online channels. You feel like it’s working like hot cakes.” Unlike some of my customers, the ticket is unrestricted and account holders don’t have to worry about anything more.
The German achieved a similar intermediate result on Monday afternoon Bahn listen “Sales of cheap monthly tickets in Lower Saxony have also started very well,” the region said. In Germany alone, around 50,000 tickets costing € 9 were sold this morning. The group has announced more than 50 additional regional trains across the country are expected to receive more traffic in the summer, which is expected to add another 250 additional journeys. However, the expanded range is likely to be limited by technical and staffing capabilities.
In particular, more workers are to be deployed “along tourist routes” Lower Saxony these will likely be particular routes to the North Sea as well as with other suppliers. Railroad chief Jörg Sandvoss has limited it: “Even the largest number of trains ends up being a limit. First of all, it is not always possible to guarantee bicycle pick-up, especially since many excursions are decided spontaneously and depend on weather conditions.”
The private railways Metronom, Enno and Erixx did not have any specific sales data until noon. “But we think the demand is high,” she said. – And customer requests are very high. Sales of a € 9 ticket at vending machines are likely to start only on 1 June, but it is already being considered whether this could be brought forward.
The Bremen / Lower Saxony Transport Association (VBN) on Monday granted the initial status of around 9,000 digitally pre-sold tickets – if you only consider in-app sales. “It’s a good start,” it says. Last weekend, many customers were informed in advance.
Some consumers have already booked individual tickets for June, July and August for € 27, VBN reports. These three months are the total period during which the subsidized ticket is valid on regional and suburban trains, metros, trams and local buses. However, there is no free choice for four weeks, from mid-July to mid-August.
Tickets are also valid for Class 2 only and are not valid for long-distance trains or buses. Children over the age of 6 usually need extra tickets and cannot be transported for free.
With a € 9 ticket, the federal government wants to relieve consumers of high energy prices, boost climate-friendly local public transport and thus encourage more people to at least try to get out of the car. However, it has been criticized that car driving is also being encouraged, for example by reducing fuel prices.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 220523-99-393443 / 3
