Many of those who bought a promotional €9 monthly combined ticket for public transport introduced in Germany said that in many cases they preferred to travel by train or bus rather than their car, BTA reported, citing DPA.
The transport document allows unlimited use in June, July, and August of the entire regional and local transport network – except high-speed trains – and for only 9 euros per month. The campaign, which ends on Wednesday, aims to ease the burden of high fuel prices on daily commuters. Berlin also wants to encourage the use of public transport to protect the climate.
According to a survey conducted by Yugav and commissioned by DPA, around 31 percent of respondents said they often use a promo ticket to travel to destinations they would otherwise use a car for. Eighteen percent have completely replaced cars with public transport. Twenty-two percent said they rarely use the ticket to travel to destinations. Twenty-eight percent bought a promotional transport document only once. Twenty-two percent of respondents said that they already have a discount travel card, and they still use the discount. Every second used a combined ticket for personal trips. A little less than a quarter used it for commuting. The same proportion used it mainly for tourist trips and excursions.
What the long-term impact of the ticket will be is not yet clear. About 18 percent of respondents said they want to use buses and trains more often in the future; 22 percent do not want to. The majority – 55 percent – are ready to use this type of transport only if such a ticket is renewed.
The Yugav survey was conducted among 2,038 participants between August 22 and August 24. The sample is representative of the attitudes of the German adult population.