Deutschlandticket loses users – price jump causes massive decline among young people
The sharp price increase for the Deutschlandticket has had serious consequences: More than a million customers have dropped out. User numbers are plummeting, especially among young people. The industry is sounding the alarm.
Following the price increase for the Deutschlandticket at the turn of the year, the number of ticket users plummeted by more than one million. With the price increase from 49 to 58 euros in January, the number of users fell to 13.4 million – in December 2024, the number was still 14.5 million, reported the " Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ," citing market research by the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) and Deutsche Bahn.
The newspaper further reported that there have been repeated seasonal declines in the monthly cancelable Deutschlandticket, for example, when more people switch to cycling. However, the quarterly figures could indicate a reversal of the trend: The number of users fell from 14.2 million in the last quarter of 2024 to 13.5 million in the first quarter of this year. Market research attributes more than half of the decline, or approximately 430,000 tickets, to the price increase.
If this is confirmed by the final sales figures, which are not yet available, it would still be better than expected: forecasts predicted a decline of up to nine percent of users, but now it is around six percent.
Particularly striking: The number of job ticket holders fell by about 16 percent to 2.2 million. Conversely, the industry had hoped for a significant boost from companies covering part of the costs for their employees. Among young people between the ages of 14 and 29, the numbers plummeted – by more than 36 percent.
The industry is therefore calling for a future avoidance of sudden price increases and instead for "moderate, understandable price increases." Furthermore, funding from the federal and state governments must be permanently secured. Due to the ongoing budget negotiations, this is only possible until the end of the year.
“If we want to make the Deutschlandticket a transport policy success, we must now anchor it permanently – both in terms of financing, design and also with a Germany-wide promotion,” warned VDV Managing Director for Public Transport, Alexander Möller.
The CDU/CSU and SPD had agreed to continue the Deutschlandticket "beyond 2025." Price increases are not to begin until 2029, when "the share of user financing will be increased gradually and in a socially acceptable manner," according to the coalition agreement. Between 2023 and 2025, the federal and state governments each paid €1.5 billion for the D-Ticket to offset revenue losses for public transport companies.
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