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Berlin considers extending €9 public transport offer

Germany's popular €9 monthly transport ticket will expire at the end of August. But Berliners could benefit from the offer until the end of the year, according to a proposal from a party in the city-state government.

A customer at Berlin's main station holds the €9 monthly ticket for June and July.
A customer at Berlin's main station holds the €9 monthly ticket for June and July. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

Berlin’s Social Democrats (SPD) want to extend the €9 ticket for a limited period, according to media reports. 

The party, which leads the coalition government in the city-state, has proposed to extend the €9 ticket regionally until the end of the year. 

However, people with the ticket would only be able to use it in the AB fare zone – that is, in Berlin, not Brandenburg. And it would not be valid nationwide unlike the current €9 offer.

The story first surfaced in media reports on Friday morning. SPD sources then confirmed the proposals to German news agency DPA. 

READ ALSO: 5 things to know about public transport in Germany after the €9 ticket

The SPD in Berlin, along with coalition partners the Greens and the Left party were set to meet to discuss how they can support residents with the spiralling costs of energy.

The proposal for a new regional €9 ticket is one of the options on the table. The costs are currently estimated to be around €300 to €400 million.

Successor to €9 ticket debated

It comes as the nationwide cheap transport offer is set to expire at the end of this month. For the months of June, July and August, people have been able to travel on all public transport networks across Germany – whether it’s the bus, regional train, tram or U-Bahn – for just €9 per month.

There have been various discussions about bringing in a follow-up ticket. Possible successor solutions were debated at a special digital conference of state transport ministers on Friday.

The states called for more money from the federal government for public transport, and for the government to present a proposal “in a timely manner” detailing a follow-up to the €9 ticket. 

“The high demand for the €9 ticket has clearly shown that public transport is used, but also that the quality still needs to be significantly expanded,” said the chairwoman of the Conference of Transport Ministers, Bremen’s transport senator Maike Schaefer.

“The federal government has a responsibility here.”

But federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing said he was disappointed with the outcome of the meeting.

“Citizens expect politics to present solutions and not shift responsibilities,” he said. 

Wissing has previously said that he wants to look into studies evaluating the overall effect of the €9 ticket before thinking about a possible follow-up offer. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

No Easter strikes: Germany’s Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

German airline giant Lufthansa and a union representing ground staff said Wednesday they had reached an agreement on pay after a lengthy dispute, averting the threat of Easter holiday strikes.

No Easter strikes: Germany's Lufthansa and ground staff reach pay deal

The deal between the carrier and the powerful Verdi union came after ground staff staged walkouts in recent months, leading to widespread disruption for air travellers.

After a series of direct pay talks failed, Lufthansa and Verdi entered arbitration this week, leading to Wednesday’s breakthrough.

Details of the deal were not immediately released.

But Lufthansa personnel chief Michael Niggemann said it was a “good compromise with substantial salary increases over the term of the agreement”.

Verdi had been seeking pay rises of 12.5 percent for the roughly 25,000 Lufthansa ground staff that it represents.

The ground staff staged their latest strike in early March, with a two-day walkout that led to the cancellation of up to 90 percent of Lufthansa’s flights. They also walked out in February.

Lufthansa cabin crew, who went on strike at major airports earlier this month, have still not reached a pay deal with the carrier.

But news outlet Spiegel reported that the airline group and the UFO union, which represents cabin crew, are due to enter arbitration after the Easter break.

The airline group earlier this month warned of the damaging impact of the wave of recent strikes, saying they would contribute to heavier losses in the first quarter compared to last year.

Lufthansa also faced a wave of strikes in 2022 by staff pushing for higher wages, leading to them winning hefty wage increases.

The group — whose carriers include Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines — had to be bailed out by the German government during the coronavirus pandemic.

But it has since bounced back strongly as travel has recovered, prompting unions to argue the airline is not passing on enough of its bumper earnings to its staff in the form of pay rises.

Wednesday’s announcement represents some more much-needed good news for employers in Europe’s top economy, who have faced a tough season of wage negotiations and strikes across many sectors.

This week, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and union GDL struck an agreement that will see train drivers work a shorter week, ending a months-long row that caused a series of crippling strikes.

The strikes have added to an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent in 2023.

READ ALSO: ‘A difficult road’: Strike-hit German rail operator agrees to shorter work week

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