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Students in Germany to get cheaper ‘Deutschlandticket’

Students in Germany will be able to travel on public transport nationwide for a reduced price as part of a new Deutschlandticket offer.

Published: 28 November 2023 11:00 CET
An advertisement for the Deutschlandticket can be seen in front of a train at the main station in Frankfurt am Main.
An advertisement for the Deutschlandticket in front of a train at the main station in Frankfurt am Main. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sebastian Gollnow

Local and regional public transport nationwide will cost €29.40 per month for people studying in Germany under new plans from the federal and state governments. 

The reduced-price offer, which is 60 percent of the cost of a regular €49 ticket, is likely to come into force from the summer semester onwards. 

Students in Germany can already get cheaper travel in the form of a semester ticket. But this move would provide a uniform ticket that students could use across Germany, as is the case with the €49 Deutschlandticket.

North Rhine-Westphalia transport minister Oliver Krischer called the agreement a breakthrough, which will have a positive impact on around three million students. 

READ ALSO: Will Germany’s €49 ticket continue?

The new offer could kick off next summer, provided that the general student committees conclude the agreements, said Krischer.

Transport Minister Volker Wissing, of the Free Democrats (FDP), said he was pleased that a deal could be reached.

“With the Deutschlandticket semester ticket, we are permanently connecting a younger group of customers to public transport,” he said.

Isabel Cademartori, transport policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group, said it was a “great success” that a Germany-wide semester ticket was finally being brought in.

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STUDYING IN GERMANY

Where can university students in Germany get a ‘Deutschlandticket’ for €29?

Originally launched year ago for €49 a month, the Deutschlandticket allows holders to take unlimited trips around Germany on regional and local transport. As of April it's been rolled out at universities across the country - with a big student discount. But not everyone is eligible.

Published: 3 April 2024 11:37 CEST
Where can university students in Germany get a 'Deutschlandticket' for €29?

The summer semester in Germany started in April, which means that many of the approximately three million students can take advantage of a discounted Deutschlandticket for €29.40. 

The popular transport ticket, launched on May 1st of last year, allows for unlimited nationwide travel on local and regional busses and trains.

However not all Unis are taking part, especially in cases where their previous ‘semester ticket’ is cheaper. Here’s an overview of where the tickets is available to students around the country.

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Germany in April 2024

Baden-Württemberg

In Ba-Wü, the “D-Ticket JugendBW” has been available since December for €365 per year. Like the Deutschlandticket, both tickets entitle the holder to use buses and trains on local transport throughout the Bundesrepublik.

Bavaria

Bavaria continues to go its own way with the €29 “Bavarian discount ticket” (Bayerische Ermäßigungsticket), which has been available to students, trainees and volunteers since September. It also allows for unlimited local and regional transport throughout the country, and for 40 cents cheaper per month than its nationwide competitor.

Berlin and Brandenburg

Of the 36 universities that already have semester ticket agreements with the Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association (VBB), around 80 percent have opted for the Deutschlandticket at a monthly price of €29.40, according to the Berlin Senate Transport Administration. Students who opt for a semester ticket – which will also allow for use of regional and local trains nationwide – can expect to pay €32 in Berlin and €34 to €36 in Brandenburg.

READ ALSO: Working hours to visas: The new rules for international students in Germany

Hamburg and Hesse

The 120,000 students at 17 universities in Hesse and around 85,000 students at 25 universities in Hamburg have been able to use public transport throughout Germany with the new Deutschlandticket since the beginning of March or the beginning of April, depending on when their semester starts.

Rhineland-Palatinate

In neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate, the Deutschlandticket for students will initially be launched in Mainz and Trier in the summer semester, with Koblenz to follow suit in the winter semester.

North Rhine-Westphalia

Most universities in Germany’s most populous state have also switched from the previous semester ticket to the discounted Deutschlandticket at the start of the new semester. They include the universities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Münster, Bochum, Duisburg-Essen and Bonn, TU Dortmund University and the universities in Aachen and Bielefeld. Others are to follow in the winter semester. 

Unlike the Deutschlandticket, the previous semester ticket was only valid regionally.

Tram Leipzig

A tram drives through Leipzig. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jan Woitas

Saxony

Most students at universities in Saxony will be able to use the discounted Deutschlandticket from the summer semester – for example in Dresden, Leipzig and Zwickau. An agreement with Chemnitz University of Technology is currently being finalised, according to the Central Saxony Transport Association. .

Saxony-Anhalt

In many places, the regional semester ticket is considerably cheaper than the nationwide Deutschlandticket – for example at the universities in Magdeburg, Wernigerode and Stendal. As surveys among students are still ongoing, the changeover can only take place there for the winter semester at the earliest, a spokeswoman for the Magdeburg Student Union told DPA.

In Halle and Merseburg, on the other hand, students have been able to use discounted Deutschlandticket nationwide from April 1st.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

In the northwestern state, only the University of Rostock is taking part. The University of Greifswald and the universities of Stralsund and Neubrandenburg have decided against the ticket.

Lower Saxony, Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen

In Lower Saxony and Saarland, the Deutschlandticket for students will not be introduced until the winter semester. The same applies in the northern city-state of Bremen.

Germany’s northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein is also aiming to offer the ticket for the 2024/25 winter semester. Planning is still ongoing, according to the University of Lübeck’s student association.

Thuringia

If at all, the Deutschlandticket for students will not be available until the winter semester, but likely only at major university locations such as Erfurt and Jena.

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