Price stability for Deutschlandticket for students

Mattias Anbuhl, Chairman of the Board of Deutsches Studierendenwerk, commented on today's special conference of the federal states' transport ministers in Düsseldorf on the future of Deutschlandticket:

"Deutschlandticket for students and thus student mobility as a whole depend directly on Deutschlandticket. In the interests of the approximately 2.9 million students in Germany, we absolutely need price stability for Deutschlandticket. Several steps are necessary to achieve this.

The funds that were not used for Deutschlandticket in 2023 must be carried over to the following year 2024. Otherwise, there is a risk that the current ticket price of 49 euros can no longer be maintained everywhere until the end of 2024 and Deutschlandticket offer will have to be discontinued. This could also affect Deutschlandtickets for students.

In the worst-case scenario, students in the affected regions could no longer have access to discounted tickets in the future, neither Deutschland Semesterticket nor a regional semester ticket. This is because the regional semester tickets, which previously ensured that students could reach their university locations at affordable prices, have largely been terminated with the introduction of Deutschlandticket.

This is why we, together with student representatives nationwide, are appealing to the federal government to adhere to the agreement with the federal states so that the price of Deutschlandticket remains stable, at least this year.

An increase in the price of Deutschlandticket, which is imminent by the beginning of 2025 at the latest, would then have a direct impact on the price of Deutschland-Semesterticket in the coming semesters, which is 60% of the issue price of the Deutschlandticket. If the price of the Deutschlandticket were to rise to 59 euros, for example, students would have to pay six euros more for the Deutschland Semesterticket, i.e. around 35 euros per month or 210 euros per semester. This is an additional financial burden for students in view of the low budgets of students and an upcoming increase in BAföG rates of just 5%.

Both the federal and state governments have a responsibility to make student mobility affordable. Turning the price spiral on Deutschlandticket would have negative consequences for students."