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Photo: Jens Büttner / dpa
Even a good four months after the launch of the Deutschlandticket, consumer advocates are dissatisfied with Deutsche Bahn. The reason for this is that the 49-euro card is still not integrated into the booking system.
If you are currently looking for a route via app or train website, you will not automatically find out that as a holder of the Deutschlandticket you can travel free of charge on regional trains or S-Bahns. "This can lead to customers paying too much money," said Wolfgang Schuldzinski, board member of the NRW consumer center, the "Rheinische Post".
»Customer-unfriendly and annoying«
The national chairman of the Pro Bahn passenger association, Detlev Neuß, called it customer-unfriendly and "very annoying" that it was still not possible to enter in the DB Navigator and online that you had free travel on regional routes.
Deutsche Bahn is now announcing that it will integrate the required option into the system: "Our goal is for our customers to be able to indicate directly in the booking process that they are holders of a Deutschlandticket," the group announced. Then only the long-distance traffic share of the requested route would be automatically calculated. However, the implementation of the project is "complicated".
Flixbus calls for integration
Last week, the long-distance bus company Flixbus, which would like to be part of the Deutschlandticket itself with its offer, called for an even more complex integration. Such an integration would "make the offer as such much more attractive and thus increase sales figures," Flixbus said.
The background to this is apparently also the impact of the ticket on the company's passenger numbers. One sees on selected lines and in tourist regions a decreasing demand, said a Flixbus spokesman of the "Rheinische Post", for example on trips from Hamburg to the coast. That's why we've thinned out the range of services on corresponding lines."
RAI/DPA