It's not really that bad. Practically for most areas in Germany it can be available from May the 1st as an in-app only ticket. That is what matters. --- PS:

It's not really that bad. Practically for most areas in Germany it can be available from May the 1st as an in-app only ticket. That is what matters. --- PS: No idea why anyone is discussion chip card, it's not an option. Every public transport system in Germany (should) have the capability to scan QR codes from APP or paper. Partially due to DB RE/RB/IC/ICE trickets having "include local transportation at start/destination" options. (And I think roughly that system was also used for the 9€ ticket.). Chip cards on the other hand can not be read by many public transportation systems and even if it would be a mess due to how such systems work, i.e. chip card systems (as used by public transportation) are generally not build to be accessed across disjoint independent systems and are much less flexible. They have their benefits, but non of the benefits matter for a person bound monthly fix price ticket in the context of how public transportation works in Germany. So integrating chip cards would be just a grate wast of resources IMHO.