The limitations of the BVG computer system mean that Berlin’s 29-euro ticket is now facing an existential threat as preparations for the 49-euro Deutschlandticket begin.

Berlin’s 29-euro ticket hangs in the balance

The 29-euro ticket, Berlin’s local answer to the delayed arrival of the nationwide 49-euro ticket, now has an uncertain future. Introduced in October 2022, the policy was extended to April 2023 while people in Berlin - and everyone else in the country - waited for the long-delayed arrival of the 49-euro Deutschlandticket for all regional long-distance transport in Germany.

Now, authorities have announced that the Deutschlandticket will be put on sale from April 3, and while Mayor Franziska Giffey, who has just become second in command to CDU politician Kai Wegner, has said that a continuation of the 29-euro ticket scheme is a “top priority”, local transport association the BVG is warning that its tech is too stretched to deal with selling both tickets simultaneously.

According to Berliner Morgenpost, the BVG would have to introduce a new technical distribution system to deal with simultaneous ticket sales. All things considered, the BVG has said that continuing the 29-euro ticket is “not realistically implementable until January 2024”.

SPD and CDU have already secured 29-euro ticket funding

Despite it being potentially discontinued, the SPD and CDU have already secured funding for the 29-euro ticket and 9-euro social ticket for lower-income Berliners. It is not yet clear how the new coalition will deal with the issue as the parties are yet to finalise their coalition agreement. 

Greens Minister Bettina Jarasch is pushing for a scenario whereby the 49-euro ticket is subsidised for workers depending on their contributions to social security, making it more within the price range of the 29-euro ticket. Meanwhile, the SPD wants to continue to ticket as an independent offer.

Thumb image credit: Tupungato / Shutterstock.com