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Regional train near Potsdam: Red like the numbers
Photo: Soeren Stache/DPA
Significantly more passengers travel on Deutsche Bahn local transport.
The reason for this: the Germany ticket.
The ticket made it possible to increase the number of passengers by 16 percent, says DB Regional boss Evelyn Palla.
Around 60 percent of passengers travel with the monthly ticket for 49 euros, which is valid on local transport throughout Germany.
This has no financial impact, says Palla.
Many passengers exchanged the conventional tickets for the cheaper Germany ticket.
The federal and state governments compensate for losses in sales by the railways and other transport companies with around three billion euros per year.
DB Regio is the largest local transport operator in Germany and has more than two billion passengers every year on red trains, S-Bahn trains and buses.
Local transport in Germany is subsidized to the tune of over ten billion euros annually in order to keep tickets affordable, especially for commuters.
The federal states are tendering route networks for this purpose.
The company that demands the lowest subsidies will be awarded the contract to operate for several years.
According to Palla, DB Regio won around 60 percent of the routes advertised last year.
“We have thus succeeded in consolidating our market share.” DB Regio operates 60 percent of the routes.
Red numbers
In recent years, DB Regio in Germany has been an important source of profits for the group.
Recently, the regional division, like practically the entire business in Germany, slipped into the red.
According to information from the Reuters news agency from corporate circles, the international logistics arm DB Schenker was no longer able to compensate for losses in Germany in 2023.
The railway will make a loss of over one billion euros in 2023, company representatives have told Reuters.
mamk/Reuters