Start of sales in Berlin
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29-euro ticket available now
Despite clear criticism from Brandenburg, Berlin has pushed through its own temporary successor to the nine-euro ticket: public transport customers can now purchase the 29-euro ticket. What to consider at the start of sales.
The discounted transition ticket for public transport in Berlin has been available in stores since Monday. Interested parties can use buses and trains in the AB fare zone for 29 euros a month in October, November and December of this year.
With the limited 29-euro ticket, the Berlin Senate wants to bridge the time until a nationwide decision is made on a follow-up solution for the nine-euro ticket. “Wherever we were able to provide relief quickly, we acted: Hundreds of thousands of people are benefiting from the offer to use buses and trains anywhere in the city for three months for only 29 euros in this crisis-ridden autumn and winter,” said Transport Senator Bettina Jarasch ( green).
Only available as a subscription – cancellable at the end of the year
To take advantage of the discount, customers must take out a 12-month subscription. Unlike the nine-euro ticket, the 29-euro ticket is not available monthly. However, the 29-euro subscription can only be taken out from November or December. At the end of the promotion period in December 2022, the subscription can be canceled without any disadvantages, according to the Senate Transport Administration. If no cancellation is made, the subscription will be continued from January at the applicable VBB tariff.
Subscription customers receive a discount automatically
For everyone who already has an AB subscription for Berlin, the price reduction to 29 euros will automatically take place via credit or billing, according to the administration. This applies, for example, to the VBB environmental card, the 10 a.m. card, the VBB company ticket and the subscription training, each in the AB tariff zone. According to rbb information, around 850,000 people currently have an AB subscription, including schoolchildren who receive the ticket free of charge.
The campaign does not include all subscriptions that go beyond the validity of the Berlin AB fare zone, such as the VBB subscription 65plus, the VBB subscription trainee or the subscription for Berlin ABC. The discount also does not apply to the semester ticket valid in the ABC tariff area.
Subscription model required for legal reasons
From the point of view of the Senate, the subscription model had become necessary for legal reasons because other solutions could collide with decisions at the federal level. “Therefore, after consultation with the Federal Ministry for Digitization and Transport, only one regulation can be implemented in which the offer is implemented as a subscription model,” the Senate informed the House of Representatives. In the worst case, Berlin would otherwise have to do without federal funds to cushion the consequences of the corona pandemic.
A cross-state offer with Brandenburg did not come about. One argument of the critics is that commuters do not benefit from the ticket.
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, September 26, 2022, 2:30 p.m