German state ministers agree formula to set future prices of nationwide transport ticket

Price increases for the “Deutschlandticket”, Germany's national public transport ticket, will no longer be set by politicians but by a fixed formula calculating running costs, reported newspaper Die Zeit. Transport ministers from Germany’s 16 states agreed to “index” the ticket’s price, meaning it will automatically rise in line with general price trends. 

The financing of the ticket, which allows passengers to use all regional and local public transport across the country, is a constant point of contention between the federal government and the states, who share the cost of the initiative.

Future price calculations will be based on a system similar to that used to price local public transport, with just over half of the price going to staff costs, around 20 percent to energy costs, and the remainder to other costs, Die Zeit reported. Transport ministers expect the ticket’s cost to rise by not more than two to four percent next year, and plan to announce its price for 2027 by the end of September, the paper quoted Bavaria's state transport minister Christian Bernreiter as saying. The ticket currently costs 63 euros per month, having already risen since its introduction on 1 May 2023 from 49 euros per month.

Clean mobility association VCD criticised the agreement, saying that Germany should do everything in its power to make alternatives to private cars more attractive. “While rising fuel prices immediately spark political debates about relief measures, significant price increases in public transport are simply accepted,” said VCD chair Christiane Rohleder. 

The federal government of the conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democrats (SPD) pledged to extend the Deutschlandticket beyond its current funding cycle, and raise the share of user financing from 2029 onwards. The coalition this week approved its 2026 Climate Protection Programme with measures to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. In the transport sector, a guarantee to extend the ticket until at least 2030 would save at least one million tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent of 435 million litres of petrol or almost 10 million full tanks, the government said.