9-Euro Ticket in Germany Does Little to Reduce Car Traffic and Significantly Increases Train Delays

Trains were often late, especially on regional transport, where the 9-euro ticket was valid. Long-distance trains were, however, also affected, but indirectly. Overall, almost 430,000 more people traveled by train each day thanks to the 9-euro ticket. “Train journeys also increased, especially on weekends, which shows that people used the 9-euro ticket for additional leisure activities. On the other hand, the reduction in car journeys was low for traditional commuting times during the week,” says Mario Liebensteiner, Professor of energy markets and energy systems analysis at FAU. After the ticket expired, the number of train journeys dropped back to the original level, and even tended to be slightly lower.

The authors expect the Deutschlandticket, which has been valid since March 2023, to have a similar effect as the 9-euro ticket. “Our results on the 9-euro ticket suggest that the significantly more expensive Deutschlandticket will probably reduce car traffic even less, even if it is available for longer  ,” says Necker. She says it could be assumed that the Deutschlandticket would benefit those who already used public transport regularly and are now able to do so at a lower price.

The study combines mobility data from mobile network devices, traffic volume data on the average number of vehicles per week at various traffic counting points in Germany, as well as train traffic data from Deutsche Bahn. The German government introduced the 9-euro ticket for local public transport in Germany from June through August 2022. Long-distance trains such as IC/E and EC were excluded from it.