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Berlin’s €29 travel pass given green light to start in July

The Berlin state government has announced that the city's €29 ticket for public transport will begin in July, with ticket sales beginning in a few days.

Published: 16 April 2024 16:58 CEST
Passengers board a U-Bahn train in Berlin.
Passengers board a U-Bahn train in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

The capital’s Senate had left people guessing to the last minute without an official confirmation, as concerns about the funding of the ticket remained. 

But the green light came on Tuesday.

“For affordable and sustainable mobility – the Senate has cleared the way for a #29EuroTicket today,” tweeted the office for the Berlin mayor. “The ticket will be valid in the Berlin city area from July 1st. Sales start on April 23rd.”

The mayor’s office called it an “important step to advance the transport transformation” to more climate-friendly options.

The offer is aimed at people who find the €49 monthly ‘Deutschland’ ticket too expensive and don’t have access to a discounted company ticket. 

“This makes Berlin a pioneer for affordable mobility in Germany and Europe,” said Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey (SPD), who is also head of the supervisory board of Berlin transport operator BVG on Tuesday.

The ticket will be available for the AB fare zone in Berlin on public transport like buses, trams and the U-Bahn as an annual subscription or ‘Abo’ – rather than a monthly pass. That means it has to be ordered with a minimum term of 12 months. After that, it is automatically renewed and can be cancelled on a monthly basis.

It can only be used by the holder registered on the card. Cardholders can travel with children under the age of six and a dog free of charge, but not a bike. 

It’s worth nothing that BER airport and popular Berlin commuter town Potsdam are not covered by the travel pass because they are outside the AB zones. 

The new offer will be expensive for the city. In addition to the subsidies for the nationwide Deutschlandticket which amounts to around €135 million for Berlin, the state will have to bear additional hefty costs. An annual sum of €300 million has been set aside in the state budget. 

READ ALSO: Is Berlin’s €29 ticket for public transport coming back?

During a visit to BVG on Tuesday, Finance Senator Stefan Evers (CDU) did not rule out the possibility of Berlin having to spend up to €350 million annually. “If the Deutschlandticket becomes more expensive as expected, more Berliners will switch to the Berlin travelcard,” he said, adding that the subsidy would then increase.

The return of the €29 ticket

Berlin brought in a temporary €29 option covering transport in the city’s AB zones after the success of the €9 ticket back in the summer of 2022. 

The €29 ticket was axed after the federal government brought in the Deutschlandticket – covering the whole of Germany’s public transport system – a year ago. 

However, the Social Democrats (SPD), which govern as a junior partner in a coalition with the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), campaigned heavily to keep the ticket during both the capital’s 2023 repeat election and resulting coalition negotiations.

The ticket is expected to stay in place until at least 2026.  

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BERLIN

Tesla’s factory near Berlin gets approval for extension despite protests

Tesla has confirmed its plans to extend its production site outside Berlin had been approved, overcoming opposition from residents and environmental activists.

Published: 17 May 2024 08:54 CEST
Tesla's factory near Berlin gets approval for extension despite protests

The US electric car manufacturer said on Thursday it was “extremely pleased” that local officials in the town of Grünheide, where the factory is located, had voted to approve the extension.

Tesla opened the plant – its only production location in Europe – in 2022 at the end of a tumultuous two-year approval and construction process.

The carmaker had to clear a series of administrative and legal hurdles before production could begin at the site, including complaints from locals about the site’s environmental impact.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

Plans to double capacity to produce a million cars a year at the site, which employs some 12,000 people, were announced in 2023.

The plant, which already occupies around 300 hectares (740 acres), was set to be expanded by a further 170 hectares.

But Tesla had to scale back its ambitions to grow the already massive site after locals opposed the plan in a non-binding poll.

The entrance to the Tesla factory in Brandenburg.

The entrance to the Tesla factory in Brandenburg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Lutz Deckwerth

Their concerns included deforestation required for the expansion, the plant’s high water consumption, and an increase in road traffic in the area.

In the new proposal, Tesla has scrapped plans for logistics and storage centres and on-site employee facilities, while leaving more of the surrounding forest standing.

Thursday’s council vote in Grünheide drew strong interest from residents and was picketed by protestors opposing the extension, according to German media.

Protests against the plant have increased since February, and in March the plant was forced to halt production following a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines claimed by a far-left group.

Activists have also built makeshift treehouses in the woodland around the factory to block the expansion, and environmentalists gathered earlier this month in their hundreds at the factory to protest the enlargement plans.

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