The nine-euro ticket is intended to relieve citizens in the face of increased inflation. Above all, the coalition faction of the Greens hopes that people will be enthusiastic about local public transport who have not, hardly or not for a long time got on a train or bus.

Sometimes, however, there can be disappointment. For example, the Pentecost excursion was just a test of patience for many travelers in congested train compartments. There is also a problem that is not obvious at first glance: in addition to local public transport with buses and trams, among other things, regional transport by Deutsche Bahn is also part of the nine-euro ticket – but not completely, but only to a large extent. Those who inform themselves in advance have an advantage.

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Deutsche Bahn is a group consisting of many individual companies. One of these companies, DB Fernverkehr, operates express trains such as the ICE – but on some routes these trains are sometimes designated as regional trains. Now it seems reasonable to conclude that the 9-euro ticket – an offer explicitly for local and regional transport – is also valid on these trains. But that is not always the case.

It is up to the federal states to negotiate with the railways for the relevant connections whether the nine-euro ticket is also valid on these special regional connections or not. As of June 8, talks are still ongoing. The 9-euro ticket is already recognized on these two sections, in which long-distance trains are used for regional transport:

However, the 9-euro ticket cannot be used on the following routes:

It is therefore advisable to take a close look at the Deutsche Bahn website in the booking portal or in the DB Navigator app to see whether the 9-euro ticket is valid or not. If you want to be absolutely sure, take two steps:

First, all long-distance connections are filtered out, leaving only local and regional connections. This can be done in the app by selecting the search options.

If you then go to options and means of transport, you will find the button “Only local/regional transport”.

Now only connections that affect cities or regional traffic are displayed – the nine-euro ticket is not valid for long-distance traffic anyway.

In step two, pay attention to whether the following message appears on the respective connection: “9 EUR ticket not valid”. Unfortunately, the hint is somewhat hidden in the app.

It appears when you go to “There is current information”:

Another tip: If the nine-euro ticket is valid, the price for the respective connection will say “from 9 euros”. This is the quickest way to see when the nine-euro ticket can be used.

For many Deutsche Bahn passengers, the holiday mood is regularly spoiled at Pentecost, which, by the way, was the case even before the introduction of the nine-euro ticket. So you should have known: The railways warned of full trains at Pentecost and also provides individual connections with information on the expected capacity on all other days of the year.

If you don’t like full compartments, it’s better to switch to another connection if possible. Seat reservations are only offered on some regional trains.

Bicycles are usually not included in the nine-euro ticket, but many day trippers still like to transport them by train. If the train is too full, however, the bicycles are not allowed in the compartment. Wheelchairs, walkers and prams always have priority. It can therefore make sense to rent a bike at the destination instead of taking your own.

The train portal has links to bike rental companies. Deutsche Bahn also offers its own bike rental service: Call a Bike. According to the company, the service can be used in 80 cities and municipalities.

If you use the DB Navigator app anyway, you should deposit the nine-euro ticket there. Then it doesn’t matter if you forget the ticket at home and are checked. To store it, the “My Tickets” area must be selected in the app. The order number and the surname of the person traveling are required. Anyone who has bought their nine-euro ticket online as a registered DB user will automatically find a digital copy in the app.