Start of vacation, long weekend, some good weather forecasts, plus the great demand for the nine-euro ticket – actually everything in the Free State was prepared for the great traffic chaos. According to the Bavarian Regiobahn (BRB), based in Holzkirchen, they were also very excited about the Pentecost weekend. But then? “Everything worked better than expected,” says Arnulf Schuchmann, Managing Director of the Bavarian Regiobahn. The government surprised the government with the implementation of the nine-euro ticket at the right time, but everything was done well.
The busy Pentecost weekend is over – and the first test for Bavaria’s transport company is over. Because of the nine-euro ticket, a rush to buses and trains was feared. And indeed: crowds on platforms, delays and a few trains that have been cleared – at least on some routes, rail travelers who were traveling with the nine-euro ticket needed strong nerves. Nevertheless, the industry passed the first stress test, at least from its own point of view.
“Overall, the DB can look back on regulated Pentecost traffic,” said Deutsche Bahn on Tuesday. “However, as expected, there were regional utilization peaks.” The Federal Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) made a similar statement. “We expected very full vehicles and platforms for the Pentecost weekend, and that was confirmed,” says association president Ingo Wortmann. The transport companies and the passengers were very well prepared.
BRB is also satisfied on Tuesday. Schuchmann also attributes the smooth process to communication with customers; information and tips about the nine-euro ticket can be found on the BRB website. Demand from travelers at the weekend was particularly high on the route to Salzburg and Füssen. In order to counteract the heavy traffic, the capacities on the routes have been increased as much as possible. There were no major problems over the long weekend, says Schuchmann: However, one or the other bike could not be taken along.
Seats were scarce on the trains towards the Oberland
So everything is wonderful? That not everything ran so smoothly on Bavaria’s rails, reports a passenger who commuted twice through Bavaria on the Pentecost weekend with the nine-euro ticket. On Pentecost Sunday, Luca S. – she does not want to make her last name public – wanted to travel from Bamberg to Nuremberg, but “the train was too full” to travel. The young woman also attributes the high occupancy rate to the Bergkirchweih, which is currently taking place in Erlangen.
On Monday, the 23-year-old wanted to take the regional express from Bamberg to Frankfurt, although no one was allowed to get on the train from Schweinfurt. Representatives of the Pro Bahn passenger association also report overcrowded trains on the phone: Accordingly, people often could not find a seat on the trains that went from Munich to the Oberland or to Austria. However, even before the nine-euro ticket, these connections were in high demand on weekends when the weather was nice. In addition, apparently more people than usual were on the R1 line between Munich and Nuremberg.
The DB Regio, the top dog among the regional railways, cannot name any figures only for Bavaria. But with around 86,000 train journeys nationwide, “everything that can roll rolled over the long weekend”. From the point of view of the industry association VDV, the transport companies were “very well prepared for the expected rush”. Nevertheless, the increased passenger volume clearly shows “that we urgently need the necessary investments in the expansion, modernization and capacity expansion of our offers if twice as many passengers are to be carried on public transport by 2030”. The nine-euro ticket brought the employees to their breaking point, said VDV Vice President Martin Burkert. “The biggest problems at the weekend were, as expected, overcrowded trains, taking bicycles and enforcing the mask requirement.” However, many travelers had shown solidarity with employees.
The Bavarian Regiobahn does not expect any fundamental changes to the route network. “The decisive factor will be: What happens after the three months? Are we convinced?” says Schuchmann. He sees more in the nine-euro ticket than a “short hype”, a product that binds people to local transport in the long term. “Politics are now required to ensure that the offer follows suit,” says Andreas Barth from Pro Bahn. “We don’t benefit if people drive along and see that it’s too full, that doesn’t work.”
In some places, people try to see the fact that the nine-euro ticket can make regions interesting for travelers who are otherwise not so much in the spotlight. Especially in East Bavaria there is not much going on on some routes anyway and the joy about every new passenger is correspondingly great. Now everyone involved is looking to the next test: Corpus Christi on June 16 is a public holiday in many federal states – and excursion traffic is guaranteed, especially when the weather is good.