Germany ticket

[duesselmartin]

still excellent value. In the past people paid the same or more just to travel within the same City.

 

[poffle]

I've been trying to buy a Deutschlandticket on the HVV Switch app for later this month. I know the monthly price went up to Eur58 from Eur49 on 1st January.

The HV app only seems to allow me to buy a ticket starting today. Also although the text says it's pro rata for month 1 it's still Eur58 shown today.

Wondering if anyone knows whether as part of the changes they've clamped down on HVV charging for partial months or whether these are gremlins with the HVV app.

 

[blackfive460]

Same here and if you try to edit the starting date it says date not allowed. Perhaps drop them an email, the address is in the app?

 

[poffle]

I've been trying to buy a Deutschlandticket on the HVV Switch app for later this month. I know the monthly price went up to Eur58 from Eur49 on 1st January.

The HV app only seems to allow me to buy a ticket starting today. Also although the text says it's pro rata for month 1 it's still Eur58 shown today.

Wondering if anyone knows whether as part of the changes they've clamped down on HVV charging for partial months or whether these are gremlins with the HVV app.

Seems to be working properly again today. Now I can select start dates and get pro-rata reductions.

I presume it was some gremlins to do with how they implemented the price rise.

 

[route101]

I have heard about this ticket over last few years. Its a ticket for regional services only, is that correct?

 

[riceuten]

I have heard about this ticket over last few years. Its a ticket for regional services only, is that correct?

It's generally a ticket for trains not classified as ICE, IC, EC, RJ, etc which is usually regional services but also includes (most) other local transport. Some regional services can be long distance and some are quite quick!

 

[The exile]

It's generally a ticket for trains not classified as ICE, IC, EC, RJ, etc which is usually regional services but also includes (most) other local transport. Some regional services can be long distance and some are quite quick!

And there are a few IC services which can be used with local tickets (including the D-Ticket) over particular legs of the journey.

 

[riceuten]

And there are a few IC services which can be used with local tickets (including the D-Ticket) over particular legs of the journey.

This is why I said "usually". The above is unusual

 

[43096]

And there are a few IC services which can be used with local tickets (including the D-Ticket) over particular legs of the journey.

This is why I said "usually". The above is unusual

In those situations, is there not normally a second train number (typically an RE service) that identifies where regional tickets are valid?

 

[Fragezeichnen]

Yes, also the responsible tariff association will publish a list. It will also show up in the journey planner when "regional trains only" is selected.

 

[rvdborgt]

Seems to be working properly again today. Now I can select start dates and get pro-rata reductions.

I presume it was some gremlins to do with how they implemented the price rise.

Apparently they wanted to prevent people to buy a ticket in advance for the old price. But indeed it work again, which is a good thing.

 

[stadler]

Is there anywhere in Germany where you can buy the EUR49.00 (or EUR58.00 now) monthly ticket in person as a paper ticket without a subscription? I remember that when Germany did the EUR9.00 monthly ticket it was available from all ticket machines and ticket offices and onboard trains and was so simple and easy for anyone to get. But they seem to have made this new ticket much more difficult to purchase. Is there actually no ticket offices or places where you can buy it in person as a normal paper ticket without a subscription?

 

[rvdborgt]

Is there anywhere in Germany where you can buy the EUR49.00 (or EUR58.00 now) monthly ticket in person as a paper ticket without a subscription?

There isn't.
You can get it on a chipcard from some providers (also at some ticket offices) but no paper ticket.
Cancelling the subscription is sometimes possible until 24 hours before the end of the month, e.g. with mo.pla.

 

[stadler]

There isn't.
You can get it on a chipcard from some providers (also at some ticket offices) but no paper ticket.
Cancelling the subscription is sometimes possible until 24 hours before the end of the month, e.g. with mo.pla.

That is such a shame. They made the EUR9.00 ticket so easy to get so i thought the EUR49.00 would be the same as it is basically a continuation of it. I wonder if this was done on purpose to make sure less people bought it. I remember hearing that the EUR9.00 ticket caused overcrowding on trains so maybe the wanted to discourage people from buying the EUR49.00 ticket.

Is the ticket that is available on a chip card at a ticket office without a subscription? I presume it must be as a subscription without an online account would not be possible?

 

[DeverseSam]

That is such a shame. They made the EUR9.00 ticket so easy to get so i thought the EUR49.00 would be the same as it is basically a continuation of it. I wonder if this was done on purpose to make sure less people bought it. I remember hearing that the EUR9.00 ticket caused overcrowding on trains so maybe the wanted to discourage people from buying the EUR49.00 ticket.

Is the ticket that is available on a chip card at a ticket office without a subscription? I presume it must be as a subscription without an online account would not be possible?

It’s aimed at residents who will subscribe long-term. Tourists can use Interrail instead of course

 

[nwales58]

I wonder if this was done on purpose to make sure less people bought it.

No. 'Digitalisierung' was the reason as I recall. First objective behind the 9-Euro ticket was 'Entlastung', roughly tax reductions, in this case a road fuel tax reduction pushed by the FDP, liberals, plus public transport equivalent that the greens demanded. Secondly, shift to less CO2-intensive modes justified the public transport subsidy continuing for everyday trips made by residents substituting for car trips.

Digitalisation is a buzz phrase politically in Germany where cash, fax and scanned paper forms still used. Germans will correct where this is wrong, my memory is a politician-level idea that there would be a single national D-ticket digital infrastructure for smart card and mobile phone. Digitising something massive had political appeal.

The reality was that to get it in place quickly the existing regional season ticket issuing tariff unions and operators would have to do it. The process is the same as existing season tickets: calender month subscription, automatic renewal, cancel before about the 10th for the next month and so on.

There are still small Tarifverbünde and non-verbund operators where you must fill in and print a PDF, hand it in and a chip card is sent to you by post each month. So much for digitalisation.

Is the ticket that is available on a chip card at a ticket office without a subscription?

In principle it could be if any issuer chose to do it. In practice the monthly rolling subscription is in the DNA.

A subscription without an online account is possible, at the small issuers at least because they don't do online(!), but can you give a SEPA mandate (Direct Debit equivalent) with an IBAN they accept and will you pass a Schufa check (Experian equivalent)? (smiley)

If it worries you, think how much a british operator cares about americans struggling with chip and pin.

 

[zero]

Someone on the German forum posted that they bought it with cash as a paper ticket on a bus when it first started. Think it was in a small town in Saxony

 

[duesselmartin]

Someone on the German forum posted that they bought it with cash as a paper ticket on a bus when it first started. Think it was in a small town in Saxony

that was a temporay measure some transport companies had until they had the proper arrangement in place.

 

[riceuten]

DB were insistent that the whole thing be subscription based as I recall.

 

[rvdborgt]

DB were insistent that the whole thing be subscription based as I recall.

IIRC it was the minister insisting. DB didn't ask for this ticket.

 

[yorksrob]

First objective behind the 9-Euro ticket was 'Entlastung', roughly tax reductions, in this case a road fuel tax reduction pushed by the FDP, liberals, plus public transport equivalent that the greens demanded. Secondly, shift to less CO2-intensive modes justified the public transport subsidy continuing for everyday trips made by residents substituting for car trips.

That's interesting context.

So the justification was a road tax reduction, similar to our fuel duty freeze, however the greens demanded an equivalent fares reduction for passengers.

If only we had someone in Westminster/Whitehall standing up for passengers. (Interestingly in our WY mayoral elections a couple of years ago, the greens manifesto seemed a bit light on public transport as well, so there seems to be a cultural blind spot here).

 

[BRX]

Seat61 lists a couple of vendors that offer this ticket without the need to subsequently cancel - has anyone had success using either of these?

Train travel in Germany, a beginner's guide | Tickets from €12.90

A beginner's guide to train travel in Germany, including ICE trains between Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, the Schonewockenende ticket and lander tickets. How to buy German train tickets online at www.bahn.de

www.seat61.com

• How to buy a Deutschland ticket:
  Here's the problem: There are many vendors, but most only sell Deutschland Tickets as a subscription requiring a direct debit from a German bank account. Some don't have an English version and some require a German address or phone number.
  But there are two vendors which (a) can be used in English, (b) don't require a subscription, (c) accept a one-off payment by credit card, (d) work fine with non-German credit cards, addresses and phone numbers.
  Option 1, buy from germanytransitpass.com - easy, no booking fee
  You can buy a Deutschland Ticket in English for a specific month, either the current month or one of the following two months, in plain English at germanytransitpass.com, with no need for a subscription and no booking fee. By changing Usual monthly subscription to Immediate termination - no further payments, it becomes a one-off payment by credit card with no danger of forgetting to cancel or missing the cancellation deadline. Non-German credit cards work fine. You should enter the German postcode they suggest, 98701. You can input your actual postcode (even a UK postcode) at the payment stage.
  You can buy D-tickets for yourself and for any travelling companions (such as your children), you can then add each ticket to your own Apple Wallet (or Android equivalent) to show to the conductor when asked.
  So far, three correspondents report successful purchases. One saw Automatische Verlängerung aktiv on his account management page after buying it with Immediate termination - no further payments selected, but the retailer has confirmed that this is an error, you will not be charged again. Feedback appreciated.
  Option 2, buy from europe.tranzer.com - easy, small booking fee
  You can also buy a Deutschland Ticket for a specific month in English at europe.tranzer.com/ticket-product/248 without a subscription, just a one-off payment with a credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, with a trivial booking fee.
  There's no need to remember to cancel anything afterwards, no risk of missing your subscription cancel-by date and accidentally paying for two months. They will email you later asking if you want to pay for another month when your current month expires, if you do you'll have to make another payment, if you don't reply they assume you don't want to continue and won't take any further payment.

 

[dutchflyer]

Very, very little chance to find one on this forum. And thus not being able to check it all, I very much suspect that to stop it one does need to hit some buttons to prevent it from carrying on the subscription, as thats the usual set-up.
Just yesterday I came back from Leipzig/DE, on this DE-ticket, to home in Nederland (close by Hook of Holland). Used 8 trains, of which 5 in DE and made some breaks in between using trams in 3 cities. Was checked only once. Only 1 train with a small delay-5/6 mins, still able to catch the connection after it. For NS in NL here I have my own other subsciption for seniors of chipcard-cost nearly the same for a month. I make 2 or 3 trips to Germany on it in a month-various visits, so it comes down to less as 10€/day-what otherwise a dayticket for 1 city would cost.
I use it via mopla solutions, as mentioned above somewhere and am quite satisfied with it. It works very much same-same as #1 quoted by seat61. Cancel or ´pause´ it is a very easy 1 or 2 touches of very easy to see buttons (in fact a little too easy for me- its too easy to hit them unwanted). Registration is the normal as any registration, they take the money on last day of the month from my VISA card and then send first an @mail to confirm payment soon followed by the link to new ticket for next month, also to see in the app. Can if wanted also set the whole thing to /en/. Alltogether even easier as the few InterRailpasses I used on my fone. And restarting the whole thing after winter for this year was also remarkably easy and fast to set up again-all data stored in app. It charges all time for a full month, but even allows to start when month is already started (Untill day 10, I think) and one can set it to pause/end untill 1 day before the month ends. And it remains a true bargain: that now 58€ is equal to 2 ´Landes´daytickets, which only start from 9.00 on mo-fr.
I have also had it a month or 2 via the glimble app of ARRIVA-well known in UK, but found it less easy to use-one often has to set up online links for it and all has to be done before the 10th for the next month for set-up and changes.
And before that on a plastic chipcard from ASEAG in Aachen, which due to its location has been appointed in NRW to deal with those foreign (Nederland/Belgium) clients for current subscriptions.
THe year when it was on offer for 9€ was just after corona finished and was meant to revive the use of public transport - in the summer monthes when demand is of course always weaker.
As above also commented: it was explicitly set up as new-time form, certainly for Germany, to only use new-style forms and no paper/cardboard.
More info aimed at the unused to it and unsuspecting tourist/visitors is also on the TripAdvisor forum.

 

[BRX]

Very, very little chance to find one on this forum. And thus not being able to check it all, I very much suspect that to stop it one does need to hit some buttons to prevent it from carrying on the subscription, as thats the usual set-up.
Just yesterday I came back from Leipzig/DE, on this DE-ticket, to home in Nederland (close by Hook of Holland). Used 8 trains, of which 5 in DE and made some breaks in between using trams in 3 cities. Was checked only once. Only 1 train with a small delay-5/6 mins, still able to catch the connection after it. For NS in NL here I have my own other subsciption for seniors of chipcard-cost nearly the same for a month. I make 2 or 3 trips to Germany on it in a month-various visits, so it comes down to less as 10€/day-what otherwise a dayticket for 1 city would cost.
I use it via mopla solutions, as mentioned above somewhere and am quite satisfied with it. It works very much same-same as #1 quoted by seat61. Cancel or ´pause´ it is a very easy 1 or 2 touches of very easy to see buttons (in fact a little too easy for me- its too easy to hit them unwanted). Registration is the normal as any registration, they take the money on last day of the month from my VISA card and then send first an @mail to confirm payment soon followed by the link to new ticket for next month, also to see in the app. Can if wanted also set the whole thing to /en/. Alltogether even easier as the few InterRailpasses I used on my fone. And restarting the whole thing after winter for this year was also remarkably easy and fast to set up again-all data stored in app. It charges all time for a full month, but even allows to start when month is already started (Untill day 10, I think) and one can set it to pause/end untill 1 day before the month ends. And it remains a true bargain: that now 58€ is equal to 2 ´Landes´daytickets, which only start from 9.00 on mo-fr.
I have also had it a month or 2 via the glimble app of ARRIVA-well known in UK, but found it less easy to use-one often has to set up online links for it and all has to be done before the 10th for the next month for set-up and changes.
And before that on a plastic chipcard from ASEAG in Aachen, which due to its location has been appointed in NRW to deal with those foreign (Nederland/Belgium) clients for current subscriptions.
THe year when it was on offer for 9€ was just after corona finished and was meant to revive the use of public transport - in the summer monthes when demand is of course always weaker.
As above also commented: it was explicitly set up as new-time form, certainly for Germany, to only use new-style forms and no paper/cardboard.
More info aimed at the unused to it and unsuspecting tourist/visitors is also on the TripAdvisor forum.

Thanks.
Have just been having a look at the various regional day tickets, as alternatives.
It's no longer easy to find out the validity are of some of these! I'm sure German railways didn't used to be as difficult as this.

For example, Bahn.de offers me a "Sachsen-Anhalt-Ticket" but nowhere can I find a simple map that lets me understand precisely what area and routes it covers.

 

[The exile]

Thanks.
Have just been having a look at the various regional day tickets, as alternatives.
It's no longer easy to find out the validity are of some of these! I'm sure German railways didn't used to be as difficult as this.

For example, Bahn.de offers me a "Sachsen-Anhalt-Ticket" but nowhere can I find a simple map that lets me understand precisely what area and routes it covers.

Don’t remember there ever being maps - just long lists. S-A ticket is (or at least used to be) valid in the whole of Sachsen, Sachsen- Anhalt and Thueringen plus a few extra little bits.

 

[nwales58]

Don’t remember there ever being maps - just long lists.

It varies. On bahn.de when you click on Weitere Informationen for some (e.g. Brandenburg) under Häufig gestellte Fragen, 'Wo gilt das Ticket?' includes a link to a map PDF. Annoyingly, the Sachsen/S-A/Thüringen trio do not.

However, 'Welche Verkehrsmittel kann ich nutzen?' states all means of transport in the VVO VVV VMS ZVON MDV marego and VMT tariff unions - so you could consult each of those to get a precise definition, apart from the few areas not covererd by a tariff union (!). Also 'almost all bus services' in the 3 Länder - without stating what almost means. 'Wo gilt das Ticket?' points you at bahn.de/agb which in turn takes you to the infamous https://deutschlandtarifverbund.de/tarifbedingungen/ then to

https://deutschlandtarifverbund.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/20250228_D_6_TB-DT-Aktionsang_Tageskarten_Maer2025.pdf

conditions for Deutschlandtariff day ticket offerings

Section 5.6 does not define the precise coverage (although it does define adjoining regions it can be used in conjunction with).

So on trains I assume it is only within the 3 Länder, which is a nice large area, unless you find one of the tariff unions includes a cross border section.

 

[BRX]

'Wo gilt das Ticket?' points you at bahn.de/agb which in turn takes you to the infamous https://deutschlandtarifverbund.de/tarifbedingungen/ then to
https://deutschlandtarifverbund.de/...D_6_TB-DT-Aktionsang_Tageskarten_Maer2025.pdf

Yes, this is where I ended up - entirely useless for quickly understanding where it's valid, especially if looking on a phone, and even if one can understand a bit of German!

 

[nwales58]

Mods: posts 84 onwards are actually about Sachsen-Anhalt Ticket rather than Deutschlandticket.

Yes, this is where I ended up - entirely useless for quickly understanding where it's valid, especially if looking on a phone, and even if one can understand a bit of German!

DB's journey planner is a quick way to check whether a journey is within a tariff union as it offers the relevant ticket. E.g. Magdeburg-Wolfsburg offers a Marego ticket even though it crosses into Niedersachsen.

But Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen have surprisingly large areas not covered by a Verkehrsverbund. I use the German Wikipedia article to find out which one is where, see the map:

Verkehrsverbund – Wikipedia

de.wikipedia.org

 

[BRX]

DB's journey planner is a quick way to check whether a journey is within a tariff union as it offers the relevant ticket.

Not the most enjoyable way to plan a leisurely day's travel across the ticket validity area though!

 

[BRX]

I use it via mopla solutions, as mentioned above somewhere and am quite satisfied with it. It works very much same-same as #1 quoted by seat61. Cancel or ´pause´ it is a very easy 1 or 2 touches of very easy to see buttons (in fact a little too easy for me- its too easy to hit them unwanted). Registration is the normal as any registration, they take the money on last day of the month from my VISA card and then send first an @mail to confirm payment soon followed by the link to new ticket for next month, also to see in the app.

I used the mopla app in the end.

I managed to buy a D ticket on my phone, using a UK debit card, whilst in Germany. It was a bit fiddly and the payment only worked after a few attempts, but then the ticket appeared fine in the app and I used it for several days without issue.

However.... I forgot that if you only want it for one month you have to proactively cancel the subscription. And the deadline for this is not the end of the month but 24 hours before the end of the month. So to stop it renewing as a pass for May, I needed to cancel it on the 29th of April. Trying to cancel it on the 30th of April was too late. OK, so it's technically my fault for not reading/remembering the conditions fully. But I do wonder if part of their business model is that a proportion of people will forget to cancel. They were able to send me an automated message on the 30th informing me that they would be taking payment for the next month's pass, so presumably they would be able to send me an automated message on the 29th reminding me that if I did not want the next month, I need to cancel. But they choose not to do this.

It's a little annoying because they promote their system as an easy way to only buy the pass for the months that you want.

I tried a polite email asking if they'd consider letting me cancel on the 30th but received a blunt reply saying it's in the T&Cs and that's that.

So, maybe I'll not use this company next time around.