On May 23, the transport companies in Berlin and Brandenburg want to start selling the so-called nine-euro ticket – if the Bundestag and Bundesrat agree to the tariff model planned by the federal government.

Almost four weeks before the planned start, the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB) announced details of the so-called nine-euro ticket on May 6, with which public transport throughout Germany can be used at greatly reduced costs. The ticket should be valid from June to August – for nine euros for each of these three months.

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The tickets should be valid for all German local and regional transport – without exception in 2nd class and not for long-distance transport, i.e. not in ICE, IC, RJ and ECE trains. According to the VBB, Flixbus and Flixtrain are also not included, nor are special services, unless their operators regulate otherwise. Also important: The ticket is valid strictly according to calendar months – in contrast to the usual flexible monthly tickets.

Ticket sales are scheduled to begin in Berlin and Brandenburg on May 23. The special offer should be available at all machines in the VBB area and at the service points of the transport companies.

The special tickets are also to be sold on trains if – as in some Brandenburg train stations – there are no machines or counters available. The same applies to buses, but expressly not to those of the BVG.

Also via the usual apps such as VBB Bus

Anyone who has a subscription to a transport company from the VBB does not need to do anything: the monthly amount debited is automatically reduced to nine euros. According to the VBB, this applies not only to environmental cards, but also to student and trainee tickets (which are free in Berlin anyway), company tickets and the VBB subscription 65plus and 65vorOrt.

The regulations associated with the respective tickets, such as taking bicycles with you, apply as usual – but only for these customers, not for the nine-euro ticket in general. The VBB-FahrCard is to be recognized nationwide in local and regional transport.

According to the transport association, the extent to which the nine-euro tickets are recognized in long-distance transport – like the regular VBB subscriptions on certain connections in Brandenburg – still has to be finally clarified.

On the other hand, it is clear that holders of semester tickets should also benefit. “More information will be available shortly from the respective university administrations,” it says.

Whoever bought the tokens for the annual ticket in advance has to take care of it: The transport association asks these customers to use the corresponding sections regularly and to submit them afterwards to the respective transport company for reimbursement. Anyone who purchases a sliding season ticket during the month of May that is valid into June will not receive a prorated refund.

In Berlin, the Senate recently considered introducing a zero-euro ticket in the AB tariff zone for subscribers during the campaign months. A decision was still open.

The transport companies do not have large reserves to increase their offer. So it will be very crowded on many routes. So full that the VBB recommends, as a precautionary measure, not to take your own bike with you, but to rent one at your destination. It also recommends “traveling outside of peak hours”.

In addition to the foreseeable shortage of supply, there are some construction sites that were deliberately put into the summer holidays well in advance and can no longer be adjusted, as they say. The VBB therefore asks for flexibility – and to find out about travel routes in advance. The planned construction work is stored at the information points and in the timetable apps of VBB and transport companies. For the foreseeable need for information on the subject, the transport association has put a portal online with further details.