After weeks of negotiations, the details for the introduction of the 9-euro ticket for local public transport are now in place.

It can be purchased for a total of three months, starting on June 1st.

The amount of 9 euros refers to one month;

sliding periods are not planned, according to a summary overview of the Association of German Transport Companies VDV, which is available to the FAZ.

The ticket expires at the end of each month.

Corinna Budras

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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Contrary to what the original name "9 for 90" suggested, passengers can use buses, S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains and regional trains in Germany for a total of 27 euros for three months.

The ticket is valid nationwide and is not limited to a specific transport association.

So it is also possible to take the regional train from Berlin to Rostock or from Cologne to Munich for 9 euros.

Simple regulation for subscription customers

The traffic light coalition decided on the hitherto unique discount campaign at the end of March as part of the comprehensive relief package intended to compensate for the sharp rise in fuel and energy prices.

In addition to assistance for motorists, the Greens in particular have pushed for strengthening local public transport.

The corona pandemic had hit bus and train companies hard, and passenger numbers have plummeted in recent years.

According to the plans, regular customers as well as citizens who do not yet use local public transport regularly should benefit.

For this reason, subscribers who have a "job ticket", for example, are reimbursed the overpaid amount for this period as a kind of "loyalty bonus".

"Subscription customers don't have to worry about anything, billing runs automatically," explained VDV General Manager Oliver Wolff on Wednesday in Berlin.

For new customers, the ticket is intended to be a kind of “trial offer” that should convince them of the benefits of local public transport over the long term.

After the end of the big discount campaign on August 31, the regular tickets of the respective transport associations, which regularly cost many times more, will apply again.

The VDV is currently working on an internet platform and a smartphone app that will allow tickets to be purchased in time for June 1st.

It will also be available on the respective websites of the transport associations, as well as in a number of sales outlets at train stations or in buses.

The costs amount to around 2.5 billion euros, which are borne exclusively by the federal government.