Fast forward twenty years and that same pass now costs $200/m and they say now they are going to start adding a transit fee to everyone’s income tax as well. Not nearly as good a deal. But somehow I think Germany will avoid that fate.
Deutschlandticket for regional bus and rail services to be offered for €49/month
251–260 of 345 posts
Re: Deutschlandticket for regional bus and rail services to be offered for €49/month
#252Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would be nice if it was complemented with a €2 hour ticket, a €5 day ticket and a €20 week ticket, then they could probably get rid of the other tickets.
Nice yes, but... Part of the reason why the 49€ ticket is that cheap (compared to a lot of other monthy more limited local tickets) is because you commit to it for a month. This ticket is meant to make abandoning cars easier for Germans and be also a nice pressure reduction for some of the people hit hardest by inflation (low income, can't afford a car anyway(1), but not (nearly) no income in which case the state pay…
Re: Deutschlandticket for regional bus and rail services to be offered for €49/month
#253Re: Deutschlandticket for regional bus and rail services to be offered for €49/month
#254Earlier quoted context omitted.
It all depends on circumstances, starting with the country you are in, that often determines the basic level of quality of any kind of public transport. Then, the real travel time is measured from door-to-door. That includes the traveling to stations/stops and the waiting time for connecting transport. I think this is fairly obvious. If we want to make the world a better place for people and the environment, the numb…
In most cases it is unrealistically difficult to beat the convenience and speed of private cars. If you are in a very dense urban environments, maybe. Otherwise, no. That's why making public transport very cheap or even free does not make everyone let their cars at home.
The whole idea is that public transport would be preferable in terms of time, comfort and cost. It can be done, there is no technical challenge whatsoever, it’s all politics.
In many cases traffic is so bad that cars are just as bad. But the key thing is to sacrifice / build lanes exclusive to public transport (busses) because those lanes effectively are so much more efficient.
We have a ton of electric busses already, which makes such transport even more ideal.
Re: Deutschlandticket for regional bus and rail services to be offered for €49/month
#255Earlier quoted context omitted.
I use public transport to go to work. But it's not really convenient. It takes me about 45 minutes to get there. And that's if everything goes well. Half an hour of that is walking (to and from bus stops) and waiting (you should be several minutes early because busses sometimes leave early themselves, but most of the time they are late). So there's not much reading that can be done. Also, try reading while you're wai…
It's obviously not convenient for everyone - but no single measure is. I'd also cut down on your walking time by taking a bycicle - you could probably save 20 minutes by that alone. My wife also takes a bike ride to the train station (and she packs quite a few bags on the bike). Nonetheless - yes, there are situations in which cars are still way better.
Re: Deutschlandticket for regional bus and rail services to be offered for €49/month
#256Earlier quoted context omitted.
The 29 ticket is not a per month ticket. You need to pay 1 year upfront lump sum. Otherwise you pay 60 per month.
You don't have to pay upfront. I got my card in February and I only have a 29 euro transaction in my bank statement for February, and then another for March. It is also possible to cancel at any time.
Says i need to pay 1 year upfront for the discount otherwise it's 63 euro per month
Edit: okay their website is just a nightmare and eventhough they say it's 63 euro they bill 29 euro
Re: Deutschlandticket for regional bus and rail services to be offered for €49/month
#257Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually, in most cases it is unrealistically difficult to beat the convenience of public transport over private cars without MASSIVE infrastructure investments favoring cars. Being able to get places with cars requires a lot of things: roads, parking, traffic measures (signs, crossings, stoplights, onways, offramps, freeways, more parking at destination, etc etc etc). If you only build for public transport, bikes, a…
The point is that the infrastructure investments required for public transports would be even higher, taking into account that roads are also required for public transports... If I want a bus or a train to be right in front of my house any time I need one and I also want that bus/train to drive me exactly where I want to go, obviously the cost will be ridiculously high.
You are likely trying to compare the USA car-centric suburbs and frankly that choice makes distances larger but that’s life. USA has a tremendous disadvantage due to the car-centric nature.
Yet even that can be changed, it will be costly, but there is no technical issue. It is all about politics. As long as taking a bus is seen as for “poor people” it will be an uphill battle.
Re: Deutschlandticket for regional bus and rail services to be offered for €49/month
#258Earlier quoted context omitted.
If 49€ is too much, how are they getting to work now? If they can walk or bike to work, they don't need rail. If their current fare is less, they presumably can continue using it. In my area, lower-income workers still usually need cars. They spend at least this much on gas each month. There's a lack of reliable transit options which makes a vicious cycle of low ridership and fewer options. I wish we could build out…
45% of people in Germany don't work. Many with low incomes who do work have access to free or cheap transport tickets as part of social benefits.
I'm trying to identify which person is unable to buy a rail ticket who otherwise should have one. On whose behalf is the OP pleading?
Re: Deutschlandticket for regional bus and rail services to be offered for €49/month
#259Earlier quoted context omitted.
pensioners should pay less because they have less income and are more dependent on public transport. tourists paying more doesn't make sense, because tourists are not going to use this kind of ticket anyways unless they are in germany for a few months. and even if they get it for just a short visit then they will hardly make as much use of it as locals, so there is no benefit for them paying more. that said, there co…
> pensioners should pay less because they have less income and are more dependent on public transport. Less income than who? Twenty-somethings? I doubt that. More dependent? Many pensioners have cars. And they, by definition, don't have a job to commute to every day.
more than 20% of single (or widowed) pensioners in germany have less than 700€ per month. only 40% of couples get more than 2500€ per month (that's more than 1250€ per person). the rest is somewhere in between.
so yes, pensioners do have less income. and twenty-somethings get student discounts.
especially very old people are often isolated and depend on public transport to get around.
Re: Deutschlandticket for regional bus and rail services to be offered for €49/month
#260Earlier quoted context omitted.
We don't need faster trains in Germany. We need trains that are more or less on time. Punctuality is a complete disaster and probably the main reason why people hate taking the train in Germany. If you have a connection that requires changing to another train, the chance that you miss your connection is too damn high.
Germany has very few fast trains ... going fast (not many train tracks are built for fast trains). It got better in the last few years, but there is still a lot to do (and catch up with France). As for the "regional" trains (that this offer is talking about), they go really slow and are just for people commuting. This kind of monthly offer would be sort of interesting if it were to apply to the ICE trains, as current…
That really depends on which line you are on. For example Munich - Nuremberg (~170km) takes 1:45 by regional train. That’s pretty competitive, going by car takes the same time. The ICE train on the same track needs 1:10.