The 9-euro ticket was introduced throughout Germany for three months - in the period from June 1 to August 31, 2022 - partly as a result of the war in Ukraine. The German government wanted to create an aid package that would help relieve the burden on citizens due to drastic cost increases in all areas. In particular, it was also intended to create alternatives for citizens to switch from car transportation to public transportation / SPNV (local rail passenger transport). Here also the rural area was included.
With this 9-euro ticket, citizens were allowed to use all scheduled buses, streetcars, subways, commuter trains and also ferries (e.g. in Hamburg) throughout Germany. Of course, this ticket was also valid on all regional trains that ran nationwide. The only exceptions were: The 9-Euro ticket was not valid on the ICE (Intercity-Express), InterCity (IC), EuroCity (EC) or Flixtrain.
The ticket could be booked quite normally at all ticket machines and in customer centers of the transportation companies and transportation associations. Customers who already had a season ticket, a job ticket, a student ticket or a semester ticket were refunded the difference to the 9-euro ticket.
Across Germany, the ticket was used by around 52% of users for everyday trips, by around 40% for visits, by around 37% for commuting to work and by around 33% for excursions. Approx. 52 million 9-Euro tickets were sold throughout Germany.
The 9-Euro-Ticket was also very well received in the District of Grafschaft Bentheim. For example, all schoolchildren in the District of Grafschaft Bentheim who were in possession of a valid bus ticket or a NITAG ticket (Lower Saxony tariff ticket) were also allowed to use this ticket for all other journeys within Germany during this period. A very large number of employees also switched from their cars to public transport / SPNV - as far as the infrastructure allowed. In total, approx. 25,000 thousand 9-Euro tickets were sold / issued in these 3 months in Grafschaft Bentheim alone. The District of Grafschaft Bentheim continues to work on creating more incentives for people to change their mindset and switch from car to public transport and bicycle.
This campaign in the District of Grafschaft Bentheim was financed by regionalization funds from the state of Lower Saxony.
The 9-euro ticket is to be succeeded in the near future by a nationwide 49-euro ticket.
