It’s so simple: travel all over the country by bus and train and no longer have to worry about the right ticket. The uncomplicated, nationwide validity is one of the central arguments for the Deutschlandticket – but now the first district is pulling out and announcing that it will no longer accept the public transport flat rate on its buses. The nationwide validity is now over; we are once again taking a step towards a patchwork of tariffs.
In the Stendal district (Saxony-Anhalt), according to media reports, the ticket will no longer be recognized on city and regional buses from January 1, 2024. The district council decided this by a majority this week. The reason is that the district with its around 110,000 residents would have to subsidize the Deutschlandticket with around 120,000 euros.
Money that the district doesn’t want to spend on it. “On the one hand, we are strong in budget consolidation. And on the other hand, the use of the Deutschlandticket for our citizens as part of our public bus transport is not guaranteed. That is disproportionate,” the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk quoted the chairwoman of the district council, Annegret Schwarz ( CDU). In plain language: The coffers are empty and not enough people in the region take the bus.
However, the Deutschlandticket remains valid on regional trains in the Stendal district. The federal state is responsible for rail transport, not the district.
Sources: Resolution proposal for the district of Stendal, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
