The prices of gasoline and diesel in Germany have never been this expensive. As they continue to climb in Europe too, the German government opted for focusing on the train, offering people a €9 monthly transit pass, and their plan seems working just fine. At least for citizens.
As the prices of combustibles have gone up dramatically in Europe, mainly because of Russia's war in Ukraine, the governments had to somehow intervene in the market to be able to balance the equation a little bit.
With the decision of offering a pass to citizens, since June 1, the Germans have been able to travel the whole country in train with a monthly payment of €9. Long-haul trains, however, are not included in this package.
Furthermore, if a delay in one of the trains surpasses 20 minutes, you can use a long-haul train for free.
The plan seems to be a monumental success, as the travels in train have been overflown.
The chart shared by Prabin Joel Jones, an expert in transportation, also shows the current situation.
Impact of €9 ticket in Germany. Crazy spike in train journeys. I hope a big bunch of this is mode shift from cars. pic.twitter.com/89zNcGcDKc
— Prabin Joel Jones (@prabinjoel) June 21, 2022
The monthly plan will be available during June, July, and August. It remains to be seen how this will affect national tourism, but the recent data shows that the usage of the train has exceeded 2,4 million travels, according to Jones.
Before the plan was introduced, around 1,5 million travels were being realized by train in the country.
