Consumers in Lower Saxony can use the nationwide local transport ticket for 49 euros per month from Monday. As a result, significant price reductions are sometimes possible. But there are also some differences compared to the previous tickets.
The 49-euro subscription starts on May 1 and is intended to build on the popular 9-euro ticket, which was only offered for a limited period of three months last summer. It should make public transport more attractive in terms of price and encourage many to switch from cars to buses and trains. The Deutschlandticket, on the other hand, is a subscription model that can be canceled on a monthly basis.
The Ministry of Transport in Hanover could not say how many of the tickets have been sold so far. This is likely to be difficult to collect because customers can, for example, buy it centrally via the Deutsche Bahn app. According to its own information, Bremer Strassenbahn AG has around 18,000 Germany tickets in the system, around a third of which are new customers – the Verkehrsverbund Region Braunschweig (VRB) registered exactly the same number, also with a high proportion of new customers of a third.
Unlike some subscriptions, the Deutschlandticket is not transferable, so it is personal. Bicycles, for example, cannot be taken along free of charge, nor can other passengers be taken along at weekends or in the evening. These services have so far been included in some monthly tickets in Lower Saxony.
A spokesman for Großraum-Verkehr Hannover (GVH) recently announced that there should be an additional offer for EUR 4.90 per month. This should allow holders who switch from a previous monthly ticket to the Deutschlandticket to continue to be able to take the option with them. On weekends and in the evenings after 7 p.m., a customer with a monthly pass can take one adult and up to three children with them in the GVH. However, due to a hacker attack, customers can only buy the Germany ticket via the GVH on June 1st.
For many local transport users in Lower Saxony, the 49-euro ticket represents a significant discount. Some transport providers had increased their prices at the beginning of the year, so the savings in some places are even greater than assumed a few months ago.
In the GVH, for example, the annual subscription for the city of Hanover costs 61 euros per month. The savings from the Deutschland-Ticket would therefore be 144 euros per year – but without the possibility of taking other passengers with you. Those who use other tariff zones in addition to the city area and want to travel to Springe, Wunstorf, Sarstedt or Großburgwedel, for example, save even more money. The tariff zones A, B and C currently cost just under 100 euros per month in an annual subscription, the price is thus reduced by half thanks to the nationwide local transport ticket.
Several transport providers in Lower Saxony also have monthly tickets that cost less than 49 euros, this applies to schoolchildren, for example. However, these usually only apply to a specific region.
In the transport association of the Braunschweig region, there is also a discount for many customers. The so-called plus card in the city tariff in Braunschweig currently costs 72.20 euros per month – that results in 278 euros less costs per year. However, here too, take-away regulations were previously included. The most expensive price level costs 171 euros per month for the transport association – the 49-euro ticket provides savings of almost 1,500 euros a year.
If you commute between Hanover and Göttingen with the metronome, you pay 261 euros per month – with the 49-euro ticket it would be around 2,500 euros less per year.
A Lower Saxony ticket, which is valid on regional trains, for example, currently costs 25 euros per day in 2nd class on Deutsche Bahn. With two trips a month, the nationwide ticket would pay off.
In Bremen, the monthly ticket in price level I costs 56.10 euros per month according to the transport association Bremen/Lower Saxony – makes 85 euros less in the year. If you drive further into the surrounding area, customers save even more money. Price level G therefore costs 185 euros per month – making about 1600 euros less per year.
Ticket overview Verkehrsverbund Region Braunschweig Tariff overview GVH Verkehrsverbund Bremen/Niedersachsen Prices Information on the Lower Saxony ticket from Deutsche Bahn Prices at the metronome Information on the Germany ticket from the GVH
