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The €9 Ticket—or the Time the German Government Wrote my Blocker Blog



In the past few months I have claimed that the unifying "Theme" of this blog has been an exploration of space and culture, as this is already the type of casual analysis which I bring to my Alltag. A large part of what drew me to study in Germany in the first place was the way in which I felt Germany, and the Germans, value culture and community more than us Americans. While a lot of what I have written about in the past has fell into the category of cultural generalizations today I am excited to be talking about a real piece of policy—the locally infamous €9 Ticket.

A few weeks ago the German governing coalition; consisting of the center left SPD, Liberal FPD, and Greens announced a plan designed to alleviate cost of living increases and encourage environmental travel by subsidizing public transit during the summer months. Since the beginning of the war in the Ukraine gas prices in Germany have been shockingly high by American standards (the equivalent of $12 per gallon being the highest listed price I saw). This along with the Green party being a member of the governing coalition led to the creation of the €9 Ticket. Starting on June 1st, a monthly transit pass in Germany only costs €9.  In Germany they have an integrated transit network, where with a single ticket it is possible to ride a train from one town to another and use the public transit in the next town with the same ticket. In Baden-Württemberg, where I am studying, a train only Baden-Württemberg pass will set you back about €27 a month. Personally I think this is a great deal, and I would certainly have one if my status as a student didn't allow me to get a Semesterkarte which is slightly cheaper. What the 9€ Ticket does is allow you to have a single ticket that works on all forms of transit excluding ICE, IC, and EC trains, across the entire country for the low price of €9 a month.

Here is a map of my previous Semesterkarte and where I could go:


This was the the best thing as I was able to go all the way to the Bodensee with the same ticket I use on the bus everyday in Tübingen, and I had discounted tickets to Stuttgart. I had no complaints. 

Here is a map of the routes available with the €9 Ticket:

I encourage you to look at the Bodensee or Stuttgart to to gain a sense of scale. And this is only the train routes, busses and subways are also valid under the €9 Ticket.

This policy has only been in place a few days but it very well could be the type of thing that changes the way Germany conceptualizes it's transit network. It is a bit of a stereotype that the Germans won't talk to strangers unless the train is late or having issues, but the amount of positive support I have overheard about this policy from people on the street or train is frankly remarkable. A Gentleman on the Frankfurt S-Bahn went as far as to suggest there may be riots in September when the ticket is no longer offered.

I think this ticket demonstrates the cultural theory that I have been exploring because if anything the effect of the €9 Ticket will be to increase public transit use and accessibility. It will now be cheaper to get one of these tickets than a single gallon of gas in some areas, in a plan that seems to be primed to intentionally bring people together.

If the cultural practice of the Germans is community consciousness—in the form of culture and environmentalism—then its product is the €9 Ticket.

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