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Comment by okr

5 days ago

Is there a similar ticket, flat for 50 Dollar per month, that takes you through the US? I wonder who pays for the real cost of the ticket, who cleans and repairs the trains, who invests in infrastructure and all that. I always wonder how the germans can pull this off for 50 Euro. Magic.

18 comments

okr

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panick21_  5 days ago

> I wonder who pays for the real cost of the ticket

Everybody already has local regional tickets anyway. And most people can't be in more then one place at the time anyway. And most people stay in the same region most of the time anyway.

So really you are not losing much compared to having separate local region tickets in a system where the long distance trains are separated.

> who cleans and repairs the trains

The already existing organizations that have run the trains for a long time.

> who invests in infrastructure and all that

The government ...

> I always wonder how the germans can pull this off for 50 Euro. Magic.

Its not magic its just a transportation policy and taxes.

  • Pamar  5 days ago

    Not sure I understand your point about

    Everybody already has local regional tickets anyway. And most people can't be in more then one place at the time anyway. And most people stay in the same region most of the time anyway.

    I live in Rostock. So if I want to go to Berlin or Hamburg (you know, where stuff like actual airports are) I am crossing "regional borders" even if it is a 200-250 km trip to each city

    • panick21_  4 days ago

      Most people don't use regional services to travel long distances. And you pay for proper inter-city services.

      The point is, if you are in Hamburg, you are no longer in Rostock. So you are only using regional services in exactly one place.

netsharc  5 days ago

Continental USA: 8 million square kilometer.

Germany: 0.35 million square kilometer.

On the point of the upkeep, locals know German trains are now legendary for unpunctuality and cancellations, so maybe it's not working. But the answer is obviously (trigger warning for the libertarians...) taxes.

The ticket came about because energy prices went crazy after their energy dealer Putin went crazy and warry, I think it was an attempt to motivate people to take public transport rather than have them moan about fuel prices going way way up...

  • itsyonas  5 days ago

    > Continental USA: 8 million square kilometer.

    > Germany: 0.35 million square kilometer.

    This does not matter much, since most people do not travel across states, countries, continents, etc on a daily basis. Most people probably travel within a 50 km (30 mile) radius (travelling to and from work, daycare, school, shopping, etc.).

    iirc, the average is slightly higher in the US, but this is probably more due to how the US has approached urban planning over the last century or so than to the size of the country.

    > But the answer is obviously (trigger warning for the libertarians...) taxes.

    I think many people forget the huge societal cost of owning and running cars, including infrastructure maintenance, crash-related deaths and injuries, health conditions caused by crashes, air and noise pollution, climate change, resource extraction, and time lost in traffic. In other words, the savings from reducing these social, health, and environmental costs could easily finance the ticket. A study estimated that a modal shift of 10% to public transit could save Germany about 19 billion Euros a year (https://foes.de/publikationen/2024/2024-04_FOES_OEPNV.pdf).

  • fxwin  5 days ago

    fyi regional trains (which the deutschlandticket is valid for) are very punctual, it is the long distance/ICE trains that are always late/broken, and you cannot ride those with thw deutschlandticket anyways.