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Berlin weighs up free public transport ticket for summer

Just a few weeks before the €9 ticket is due to be released, the Berlin Senate is mulling a new idea to offer free summer travel for people who sign up to subscriptions.

Published: 13 May 2022 10:30 CEST
BVG bus in Berlin
A 200-route bus waits at the bus stop at Zoologischer Garten in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Paul Zinken

According to reports in regional newspaper Tagesspiegel, the transport administration has pitched a three-month €0 ticket for customers that would run alongside the €9 ticket with the aim of pulling in new long-term customers.

In a letter obtained by Tagesschau and regional broadcaster RBB, the transport administration department told parliament that the free ticket would be exclusively available for new and existing season-ticket and subscription holders. 

“It is currently being discussed in Berlin to lower the prices for season tickets to €0 in the campaign months as an alternative to the €9 monthly ticket,” they wrote.

This could win over new customers and encourage them to start rolling subscriptions, they argued.  

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How to get hold of the €9 travel ticket in Berlin

The free ticket would run from the start of June until the end of August – just like the national €9 ticket – though it’s unclear if it would only be usable for local public transport in Berlin or if, like its €9 counterpart, regional and local routes nationwide would also be included in the offer. 

Pandemic effect

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, Berlin and Brandenburg’s transport operators have lost a number of their original customers. Some have switched to cars or bicycles while others are simply travelling less due to continued home office or less post-pandemic socialising. 

Fewer subscriptions – known as Abos – have been sold by S-Bahn and BVG this year. The operators are concerned that this could lead to significant revenue losses over time.

By dangling the carrot of free transport, the Senate is hoping that it can encourage some of these customers to return over summer and start paying for subscriptions when autumn rolls around.

However, the transport administration has pointed out that talks with the federal government, other federal states, transport associations and the companies involved have not yet been concluded.

“There are different models and therefore many parties to be involved,” transport administration spokesman Jan Thomsen told RBB. “A decision is still open.”

According to the Senate’s estimates, the €0 scheme would cost Berlin around €22 million. 

READ ALSO: What tourists visiting Germany need to know about the €9 ticket

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BERLIN

Warning of toxic smoke after fire breaks out at Berlin factory

More than 180 firefighters wearing protective suits were on Friday tackling a major blaze at a metal technology firm in Berlin's Lichterfelde area as authorities warned of toxic smoke.

Published: 3 May 2024 16:35 CEST
Updated: 3 May 2024 18:08 CEST
Warning of toxic smoke after fire breaks out at Berlin factory

The blaze broke out in the first floor of metal technology factory ‘Diehl Metal Applications’ on the Stichkanal in Lichterfelde, south-west Berlin around 10:30 am.

On Friday afternoon, a fire brigade spokesperson said an area of over 2,000 square metres was on fire in the four-storey building.

As of 5 pm, the fire was reportedly still not under control.

According to the spokesman, the fire had spread to the roof, with parts of the building collapsing.

As the company also stores and processes chemicals in various quantities, there are concerns over harmful fumes in the smoke. 

“We can confirm that chemicals are also burning in the building,” said the fire service. “Sulphuric acid and copper cyanide were stored there. There is a risk of hydrogen cyanide forming and rising into the air with the smoke.”

Hydrogen cyanide is a highly toxic substance.

The Berlin state government said that residents “in the affected areas of the toxic fumes caused by the fire” were warned through the NINA warning app at midday.

People walk in the area near the fire in Berlin on Friday. Residents have been urged to stay inside and keep their windows closed.

People walk in the area near the fire in Berlin on Friday. Residents have been urged to stay inside and keep their windows closed. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

The Berlin fire department also said on X that people in a large area of Berlin and the outskirts, shown on the map in this tweet, should keep their windows and doors closed, turn off air conditioning and avoid smoky areas. People have also been asked to avoid the area. It includes a large part of the Grunewald forest. 

In the immediate vicinity, hazardous substances had been measured. According to a fire and rescue spokesperson, no injuries have been reported. 

A spokesman for Diehl Metall, to which the plant belongs, said on request that the chemicals mentioned were also only kept in small quantities at the plant.

According to the Diehl spokesman, the location is used for electroplating parts for the automotive industry. The Diehl Group is a large arms company; however, no armaments were produced at the Berlin plant, Nitz said.

Emergency response authorities requested the help of the in-house fire brigade from the firm Bayer, which is familiar with fighting against chemical fires, Berlin newspaper Tagesspeigel reported. 

Which areas are most affected?

Pupils and teachers from nearby schools have been sent home as a precaution, while several shops around the site have closed. 

On Friday afternoon, a warning message popped up on many mobile phones with a shrill sound, according to which there is “extreme danger”.

“After evaluating the weather conditions and the corresponding wind direction, the flue gases move from the scene of the incident in a northerly direction,” the fire department told the German Press Agency (DPA).

Flames seen at the fire in Berlin's Lichterfelde on Friday.

Flames seen at the fire in Berlin’s Lichterfelde on Friday. Shops around the area closed. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

According to the fire department spokesman, however, it was not initially clear at what distance the smoke could still be hazardous to health.

Parents of students at the Fichtenberg-Gymnasium in Steglitz received an e-mail stating that classes had been stopped and all students had been sent home. However, the local Abitur or end of school leaving exams continued with the windows closed.

Surrounding roads were closed while flames leapt into the sky, according to a DPA reporter on site.

A neighbouring supermarket was completely enveloped in white smoke. The surrounding area is a mixture of commercial area, allotments, housing estates and shopping centre. According to eyewitnesses, the smoke appeared to be heading north.

The fire department published a map on which the affected areas are marked. Parts of Spandau, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Reinickendorf, among others, can be seen. People should avoid the affected area and drive around it as much as possible, the fire department suggested. Even if no smoke is visible, windows and doors should remain closed and ventilation and air conditioning systems should be switched off, it said.

In the immediate vicinity of the fire, the police made announcements with a megaphone and called on people to leave the streets, go home and keep windows closed.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established. 

With reporting by DPA, Paul Krantz and Rachel Loxton.

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