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Germany to introduce nationwide €49/month public transit pass

28 points by Gadiguibou 4y ago

ohiovr 4y ago
Sounds awesome if they can pull it off. I'd love to have the interurban back in the USA. Since they already got one, this looks doable.
- LargoLasskhyfv 4y ago
  It depends. Covid is still out there, so I'm wary to use public transport, no matter how cheap it is. I'm even more wary of using slow mode across large distances. Even without Covid or other plagues, it is often full to the max, dirty/smelly and not on time. That aside, it would make more sense to have a monthly ticket for something between 10 to 20EUR for a region, which could be topped up for longer distances, as needed. In a simple way, to get rid of the tariff chaos.
  - Southworth 4y ago
    So much of your comment makes me sad. I do hope that in the future you can bear to be in the same carriage as me without feeling fearful.
    - sneak 4y ago
      Covid is a deadly disease, and wishing to limit one’s unnecessary exposure to potential infection neither implies nor denotes that one is fearful. One need not be afraid to avoid unnecessary hazards.
    - LargoLasskhyfv 4y ago
      Sigh... It's all a matter of probabilities. I've used and do use public transportation. But only if I absolutely have to. Otherwise I'm minimizing it. See it the other way around: I'm still unvaxxed! So my reluctance is protecting U ;->
    - dzhiurgis 4y ago
      As much as I think that comment was hyperbole, I do hope in future all public places are well ventilated. I took my co2 meter around to trains and planes and there’s so much to improve (esp when boarding). There’s so much effort put to clean surfaces… wonder how does it compare vs air-born infections. For covid it took so long for hand cleaning mania to go away and masks to come back.
mytailorisrich 4y ago
> The proposal follows a wildly successful “9-euro ticket,” which was on offer in Germany for three months this summer I don't like this sort of misleading hyperbole. It is obvious that essentially free travel during the peak travel season would sell like hot cakes, it does not tell us anything new, though. > “With the 9-euro-ticket we showed: simplicity is better,” Transport Minister Volker Wissing said Thursday Simplicity might be better but this really showed that people like a free lunch, unsurprisingly.
- dtx1 4y ago
  What absolutely uninformed BS.Germanys public transit is organized in many small organizations making it basically impossible to understand what ticket you need to get from point A to point B in many cases. Due to this, a single ticket for Germany simply did not exist.For 50 Euros, this ticket only allows usage of slow public transport like buses and local trains. This is hardly cheap, yet due to it simplicity it makes it viable for a lot of people when the current tickets weren't before.
  - mytailorisrich 4y ago
    I am sure you can make your point without insulting. I agree that simplicity helps. I am simply pointing out that providing an in-demand service for essentially free will always be "successful". Politicians are trying to spin the obvious as a breakthrough that fits their agenda, that's all. Don't shoot the messenger.
    - dtx1 4y ago
      > Politicians are trying to spin the obvious as a breakthrough that fits their agenda, that's all. Because it IS a breakthrough. Breaking the barrier between local public transport organizations has been unthinkable for literally decades and may be one of the single greatest achievements of the governing coalition. Painting this as "everyone likes free stuff" is just the same "oh that's socialism" dribble from conservatives all around the world that prevents any progress being made at all.
a012 4y ago
From an infrequent visitor, EUR49 a month for all public transportation is reasonable. Also I can just buy a digital ticket before coming to Germany and then use it in any cities sound fantastic.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
locallost 4y ago
It's not going to sell as much as the 9 Euro Ticket, but it's going to get a lot of commuting people out of cars and into trains. Even going from neighboring small-medium towns is roughly 100+ monthly. People using cars like certain advantages a car has and the prices were in the ballpark in the past, but with current prices those advantages become meaningless quick. As a lot of things it's a compromise, but overall I think it's a good thing.
MisterSandman 4y ago
For reference, a transit pass JUST for Toronto costs like $200, and you can't even travel outside Toronto proper.
bergenty 4y ago
That’s a very, very reasonable price.

28 points by Gadiguibou 4y ago

Sounds awesome if they can pull it off. I'd love to have the interurban back in the USA. Since they already got one, this looks doable.

LargoLasskhyfv 4y ago
It depends. Covid is still out there, so I'm wary to use public transport, no matter how cheap it is. I'm even more wary of using slow mode across large distances. Even without Covid or other plagues, it is often full to the max, dirty/smelly and not on time. That aside, it would make more sense to have a monthly ticket for something between 10 to 20EUR for a region, which could be topped up for longer distances, as needed. In a simple way, to get rid of the tariff chaos.
- Southworth 4y ago
  So much of your comment makes me sad. I do hope that in the future you can bear to be in the same carriage as me without feeling fearful.
  - sneak 4y ago
    Covid is a deadly disease, and wishing to limit one’s unnecessary exposure to potential infection neither implies nor denotes that one is fearful. One need not be afraid to avoid unnecessary hazards.
  - LargoLasskhyfv 4y ago
    Sigh... It's all a matter of probabilities. I've used and do use public transportation. But only if I absolutely have to. Otherwise I'm minimizing it. See it the other way around: I'm still unvaxxed! So my reluctance is protecting U ;->
  - dzhiurgis 4y ago
    As much as I think that comment was hyperbole, I do hope in future all public places are well ventilated. I took my co2 meter around to trains and planes and there’s so much to improve (esp when boarding). There’s so much effort put to clean surfaces… wonder how does it compare vs air-born infections. For covid it took so long for hand cleaning mania to go away and masks to come back.

mytailorisrich 4y ago

> The proposal follows a wildly successful “9-euro ticket,” which was on offer in Germany for three months this summer I don't like this sort of misleading hyperbole. It is obvious that essentially free travel during the peak travel season would sell like hot cakes, it does not tell us anything new, though. > “With the 9-euro-ticket we showed: simplicity is better,” Transport Minister Volker Wissing said Thursday Simplicity might be better but this really showed that people like a free lunch, unsurprisingly.

dtx1 4y ago
What absolutely uninformed BS.Germanys public transit is organized in many small organizations making it basically impossible to understand what ticket you need to get from point A to point B in many cases. Due to this, a single ticket for Germany simply did not exist.For 50 Euros, this ticket only allows usage of slow public transport like buses and local trains. This is hardly cheap, yet due to it simplicity it makes it viable for a lot of people when the current tickets weren't before.
- mytailorisrich 4y ago
  I am sure you can make your point without insulting. I agree that simplicity helps. I am simply pointing out that providing an in-demand service for essentially free will always be "successful". Politicians are trying to spin the obvious as a breakthrough that fits their agenda, that's all. Don't shoot the messenger.
  - dtx1 4y ago
    > Politicians are trying to spin the obvious as a breakthrough that fits their agenda, that's all. Because it IS a breakthrough. Breaking the barrier between local public transport organizations has been unthinkable for literally decades and may be one of the single greatest achievements of the governing coalition. Painting this as "everyone likes free stuff" is just the same "oh that's socialism" dribble from conservatives all around the world that prevents any progress being made at all.

a012 4y ago

From an infrequent visitor, EUR49 a month for all public transportation is reasonable. Also I can just buy a digital ticket before coming to Germany and then use it in any cities sound fantastic.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

locallost 4y ago

It's not going to sell as much as the 9 Euro Ticket, but it's going to get a lot of commuting people out of cars and into trains. Even going from neighboring small-medium towns is roughly 100+ monthly. People using cars like certain advantages a car has and the prices were in the ballpark in the past, but with current prices those advantages become meaningless quick. As a lot of things it's a compromise, but overall I think it's a good thing.

MisterSandman 4y ago

For reference, a transit pass JUST for Toronto costs like $200, and you can't even travel outside Toronto proper.

bergenty 4y ago

That’s a very, very reasonable price.