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Bus in Berlin
Photo: Jörg Carstensen / dpa
The federal and state governments have agreed on a cheaper Deutschlandticket for students. North Rhine-Westphalia Transport Minister Oliver Krischer (Greens), as chairman of the Conference of Transport Ministers of the Länder, spoke of a breakthrough at the request of the dpa news agency. Around three million students could now get a semester ticket for 29.40 euros per month on the basis of the Deutschlandticket.
According to Krischer, the nationwide uniform semester ticket as part of the Deutschlandticket could start in the summer semester of 2024, provided that the general student committees now quickly conclude the necessary contracts with the transport companies. The Federal Ministry of Transport confirmed the agreement.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing said: "I am pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with the federal states today on a Deutschlandticket for students. Now that the Conference of Minister-Presidents has finally confirmed the financing issues relating to the Deutschlandticket, nothing stood in the way of an agreement on the semester ticket."
Isabel Cademartori, transport policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group, said: "The Germany-wide semester ticket in the solidarity model is coming. It's a great success." It will cost 29.40 euros, which corresponds to 60 percent of the standard price for the ticket. The federal and state governments have cleared the way for a further increase in the number of regular subscribers.
Madita Lachetta, a member of the national board of the Juso university groups, said that student bodies had cancelled their semester ticket contracts in droves in recent months for fear of lawsuits. "As a result of the introduction of the 49-euro Deutschlandticket, many students are currently without a semester ticket." The student bodies are now free to offer the new offer or to negotiate regional alternative solutions. Lachetta called for price stability for the Deutschlandticket. If the standard price increases, the price of the discounted ticket for students would also increase.
kfr/dpa