Large price differences for local public transport in major German cities: A current ADAC study shows that ticket prices sometimes differ by more than 100 percent. And that although the services are mostly equivalent.
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No uniform pricing in local public transport
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Biggest price differences for weekly tickets
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More flex tariffs due to changed working models
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Digital innovation: eTarif in Mannheim
The cities and transport associations examined
After 2019, the ADAC has the Public transport ticket prices examined closely in 21 major German cities with more than 300,000 inhabitants. The cities examined, Bochum, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen and Wuppertal are just as much part of a joint transport network as Bonn and Cologne.
Public transport tickets: Price differences of up to around 100 percent
The result of the investigation is remarkable: the prices of individual tickets differed considerably from one city to another and the, although the included Services mostly equivalent are.
The largest span with more than a hundred percent found the testers in the Weekly tickets for adults. In the most expensive city of Berlin, they cost 36 euros, while in Munich you had to pay 17.80 euros.
The difference between the two was equally striking Monthly tickets. This could already be purchased in Munich for 57 euros, while in Hamburg, at 112.80 euros, almost double the amount had to be paid.
Day tickets for adults were the most expensive at 8.80 euros in Berlin, Bonn and Cologne and thus cost almost 65 percent more than in Frankfurt, where they paid 5.35 euros.
For one Single trip adults in Munich reached significantly lower at EUR 3.40 than in Hamburg with EUR 2.40. Children were also asked differently to pay for single trips: in Leipzig they bought the ticket for 1.20 euros, which is almost 60 percent less than in Berlin and Mannheim, where the ticket cost 1.90 euros.
Short haul tickets one looked in vain in Dresden, Karlsruhe and Mannheim, in Hanover and Karlsruhe the weekly tickets were missing.
Price increase only moderate since 2019
Good for consumers: since the ADAC survey in 2019, prices have only been moderate, depending on the type of ticket, up to the time of the ADAC survey between 1.33 and 5.11 percent gone up. Nuremberg has not changed its prices at all and Bielefeld, Bremen, Frankfurt and Karlsruhe sometimes even offered individual tickets significantly cheaper than 2019 an.
User-friendliness through flexible ticket validity
Weekly and monthly tickets could be bought almost anywhere flexible can be started on any day – this was not always the case in 2019. The only exceptions: In Mannheim the weekly ticket was always valid from Monday and in Bremen the monthly ticket from the beginning of the month.
The rules for taking other people with you and the Transferability of tickets to third parties.
There was also agreement among them Child ticketswhich were generally aimed at 6- to 14-year-olds. Younger people can use German public transport for free; only in Dresden and Leipzig, regardless of age, do not pay children until they start school.
The day is not the same length everywhere
Both Day tickets Two models compete: while in one half of the cities the day ticket was valid for 24 hours from the time of validation, the driving license in the other cities ends on the following day when the respective transport association closes.
Bicycles can be taken for free in three cities
the Taking a bicycle with you was allowed everywhere, but the pricing models differed. Frankfurt, Hamburg and Hanover transported bicycles free of charge, but a single ticket was needed in Berlin, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Mannheim, Nuremberg, Bonn and Cologne and at certain times on the Stuttgart S-Bahn. All other transport associations required a day bike ticket to take them with them.
Digital innovation: the eTarif in Mannheim
All transport associations offered consistently mobile Apps and partially Online-Tickets , occasionally in connection with discounts for the use of digital offers. Consumers should therefore always check whether the desired ticket is cheaper in the digital version.
Mannheim is testing a special feature with the eTarif. There, the fare is displayed on the app, accurate to the kilometer after the As the crow flies between the start and exit stops billed. The basic price was 1.30 euros, each additional kilometer cost 20 cents and was automatically debited. The London system “Pay As You Go” is comparable, where the time driven is paid to the second.
Munich also shows with its Pilot project “Swipe+Ride“How, by means of a check-in and a check-out after the journey on a smartphone, the actual distance traveled is simply recorded and billed.
Conclusion: every city cooks its own soup
The second ADAC study also showed that German cities have standardized public transport ticket prices still miles away are. The large margins and how they come about mostly depends on the pricing policy of the municipalities and also depends on funding from the federal, state and local governments.
For the consumer and the attractiveness of public transport as a whole would be one Standardization of prices at the lowest possible level desirable.
Public transport price increases in December: That’s what the ADAC says
For December most of the transport companies have Price increases of up to 5.5 percent announced.
Against this background, the ADAC considers the increase in the means of transport independent Distance flat rate for bid.
Additionally sees ADAC traffic president Gerhard Hillebrand In the short term, the need for more flexible tariff structures, especially for part-time workers and home office users: “For consumers who do not use public transport every day, the current tariff structure often does not offer any affordable offers. Attractive public transport is essential for future mobility Above all, consumers want fair prices, reliability and an expansion of the range. “
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All test results
Corona changes mobility behavior – transport associations are reacting
For years, the number of passengers and income in local public transport climbed to ever greater heights. In 2019, more than ten billion customers used local public transport in Germany.
That changed with the corona pandemic Mobility behavior of people then radical, especially in the cities. Transport associations recorded the number of passengers massive break-ins from at times up to 80 percent. Calculated over the whole of 2020, there were around 30 percent fewer passengers than in the record year 2019. Even if around three quarters of the original users have now returned to public transport, the associations do not expect a return to the previous level before 2024.
Corona: How to protect yourself and others on buses and trains
Individual cities want to counteract this with new ones Bonus or subscription models as well as through Discount promotions. In this way, the public transport associations want to win back lost customers and take account of changed working models.
Corona crisis in public transport: Interview with Ingo Wortmann, President of the VDV
In the long term, the Corona crisis and its consequences not only pose serious challenges for the transport associations, but also offer them Opportunities for the future. The trends are already emerging: flexible tickets tailored to individual needs, the possibility of combining different modes of transport and further digitization.
The public transport of the future: trends, innovations, digitization
Methodology: Closer look at tickets and tariffs
As part of the public transport ticket comparison, the ADAC includes the tariff systems of German cities more than 300,000 inhabitants checked. One prerequisite: both buses and a rail network had to be in place in the cities.
For the price comparison, the research team used the seven most common ticket types that cover the broadest possible range of customers. The comparison was made between short trips, single tickets, day, weekly and monthly tickets for adults, single tickets for children between the ages of six and 14 as well as tickets for taking bicycles with you. Subsidized tickets or subscription offers were not taken into account.
Research was carried out on the Websites of the providers. In doing so, prices were sounded out and research was carried out to find out what services the various ticket tariffs contain. In-depth regulations, such as the respective tariff provisions of the associations, were not part of the price comparison.
The comparison was carried out and evaluated on behalf of the ADAC by the Knapp Quality Solutions institute, which specializes in incognito tests in the field of consumer protection and service quality. The test was carried out between June 25 and July 9, 2021.
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