HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) – With the summer semester now beginning, many of the approximately three million students in Germany should be able to use a discounted Germany ticket for 29.40 euros on buses and trains nationwide. But the decision made by the federal and state governments at the end of last year has not yet been implemented everywhere – and not all universities intend to take part, as a survey by the German Press Agency showed. The universities and their student bodies must conclude contracts with the respective transport companies for the ticket.
The federal and state transport ministers agreed in November 2023 to offer the discounted Germany ticket as a semester ticket from the summer semester. At many universities it is intended to replace the previous solidarity semester ticket, which enables the use of public transport in the respective transport network and is charged to students via the semester fees.
Where the ticket is already valid now and where it won’t be available until the winter semester
While 120,000 students at 17 Hessian universities and around 85,000 students at 25 universities in Hamburg have been using local public transport since the beginning of the month or from April 1st – depending on the start of the semester – with the new Deutschlandticket for 60 percent of the regular price can be used throughout Germany, it will not be available in Lower Saxony, Saarland and Thuringia until the winter semester.
How it is regulated in the countries
NRW: Not all universities in North Rhine-Westphalia are ready with the Studi-Ticket in time for the summer semester. According to the survey, contract negotiations are currently ongoing for some of the facilities. Even if it becomes apparent that not all universities will join in, the vast majority of students in North Rhine-Westphalia will still receive the discounted Germany ticket.
Berlin: Of the 36 universities with which semester ticket agreements already exist with the Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association (VBB), around 80 percent were in favor of the Deutschlandticket, said the Senate Transport Administration. Part of it has already been signed. The remaining universities decided again in favor of a VBB semester ticket due to different semester periods. A response was still pending from two universities.
Saxony: Most students at Saxon universities can use the discounted Germany ticket from the summer semester onwards – for example in Dresden, Leipzig and Zwickau. An agreement with Chemnitz University of Technology is in the works, the Central Saxony Transport Association said. In Freiberg and Mittweida, however, the students showed no interest. Just like there, students at many German universities can decide for themselves whether they want to switch to the Deutschlandticket.
Saxony-Anhalt: This is often a cost-benefit decision, as the current semester ticket is significantly cheaper – for example at the universities in Magdeburg, Wernigerode and Stendal. Since the surveys are still ongoing, the change could not take place until the winter semester at the earliest, said a spokeswoman for the Magdeburg student union. In Halle, however, students can use the Deutschlandticket from April 1st.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: In the northeast, the University of Greifswald and the University of Neubrandenburg have decided against the new ticket – in contrast to the University of Rostock, where it applies from the summer semester.
Thuringia: Especially in the smaller university locations with comparatively poor local transport connections such as Schmalkalden, Ilmenau or Nordhausen, the Germany ticket, which is significantly more expensive compared to the semester ticket, is not very attractive, according to the conference of Thuringian student bodies.
Bavaria: The Free State continues to go its own way with the “Bavarian reduction ticket” for 29 euros per month, which students have also been able to use since September. The price of a solidarity semester ticket is fully offset against the price of the discount ticket. According to the Bavarian Railway Company (BEG), it is also possible to voluntarily purchase a discount ticket as an upgrade to the existing semester ticket.
There was criticism of the deadline presented by the federal and state governments: “The decision on the Germany semester ticket for April 2024 was very short-term for the transport companies,” said the Berlin Senate Transport Administration. The implementation is therefore only possible with great effort on the part of the transport companies and with small restrictions on the offer./fi/DP/zb