Hamburg now has its own “double boom”: That’s what Anjes Tjarks (Greens), Senator for Transport and Mobility Transition, called the biggest tariff reform of the Hamburg Transport Association since its foundation. This means that local public transport in the Hanseatic city will be significantly cheaper from May, and the fare structure will be simpler. Tjarks presented the innovations together with Finance Senator Andreas Dressel (SPD) and HVV Managing Director Anna-Theresa Korbutt at the state press conference.
A few hours after activists of the so-called “last generation” once again stuck to the Veddeler Damm on the Kleinen Grasbrook and demanded a nationwide 9-euro ticket in addition to the speed limit and the council, it is now clear: With the nationwide Deutschland-Ticket for 49 From May 1st, new tariffs will also apply in the HVV, the oldest tariff association in the world. Advance sales start on Monday. For Senator Tjarks “applied social policy, a booster for climate protection and for the mobility turnaround”.
All existing customers will therefore automatically have an HVV Germany ticket as of May 1st. With the reduced monthly price of 49 euros, you save up to 166 euros every month, the subscription for the “Hamburg AB” area is 48 euros cheaper per month, while local and regional transport can now be used nationwide. The aim was to make the tariff system “much simpler, much cheaper and much more flexible”, says Tjarks. “That’s why we turned the entire range of season tickets upside down.”
When advance sales start on April 3, new customers can purchase the HVV Germany ticket via the company’s “Switch app”. Alternatively, the ticket, which is valid nationwide, can also be bought as a chip card. Anyone who has previously paid less than 49 euros can continue to use the ticket.
In detail, the tariffs are as follows: The professional ticket for employees will in future be available as a Germany ticket for a maximum of EUR 34.30. With a higher employer contribution, this price drops to 25 euros in the “Profi Ticket Premium”. There is also a new climate ticket, with which employees of a company can choose between three daily tickets for the entire HVV network (“Climate Ticket S”) or a monthly ticket that is valid nationwide (“Climate Ticket XL”).
Pupils will pay 19 euros for the AB area instead of the previous 30 euros and can therefore use public transport nationwide. For Tjarks “the next big step towards free public transport for schoolchildren in Hamburg”. According to the HVV, the conversion of previous tickets to the new Deutschlandticket will take place automatically on May 1st. Trainees can now also get the Deutschlandticket as part of their previous BonusTicket with an employer subsidy for 29 euros per month and can take one adult and three children with them on weekends and public holidays. Students who want to convert their existing semester ticket to the nationwide Deutschlandticket can upgrade for around 18 euros per month. “We want a nationwide solidarity model,” says Tjarks. However, it will still take some time before it is applied nationwide. Further discounts are planned for the winter semester.
The social discount of the city of Hamburg from around 25 euros per month will be raised to 30 euros. Persons who receive subsistence benefits can therefore use local transport nationwide for 19 euros per month. Children from low-income families receive their Germany ticket free of charge. For Tjarks “one of the largest social relief packages in Hamburg in recent decades”, which contributes to “the freedom of people”, since they now have the opportunity to travel throughout Germany with their HVV ticket. “We want to relieve the Hamburg residents, actually make climate protection a reality and promote social relief.” New, discounted monthly and weekly tickets are planned for passengers who do not want a subscription.
“We are radically simplifying our tariff, offering nationwide validity and at the same time significantly lower prices,” says HVV boss Korbutt. A total of around 700,000 HVV subscription customers benefited from this. “At the same time, we have the goal of winning new employees.” Not only was the tariff system restructured, but also the sales channels. In the future, the digital purchase of the Deutschlandticket will be the main focus. Apparently, a lot is expected from the new possibilities of the professional ticket for employees – so far around 200,000 professional tickets are in circulation.
During the performance, no one feared that Hamburg’s buses and trains would get too crowded, especially at peak times. The occupancy rate is currently almost 87 percent compared to 2019. “We don’t see any capacity problems, we have reserves and know what we have to work on,” says Korbutt.
Finance Senator Dressel described the innovations as a “big joint step” and “a big boost”. With the Deutschlandticket, which is valid nationwide, Hamburg is putting it up a notch. “A sign that the Senate takes the mobility turnaround very seriously.” But: “Of course, everything has its price,” says Dressel. In total, additional investments of half a billion euros will be necessary by the end of 2025 due to Hamburg co-financing, reduced income and subsidies. The school authorities are to receive 34 million euros in the current double budget for the discounted student ticket, around 38 million euros for the social authorities for the higher social discount.
The federal government must therefore not only co-finance the entry, “but also see this as a permanent task”: “From 2026 we need a permanent, dynamic, half-participation of the federal government in the Deutschland-Ticket based on the real costs,” says Dressel.
The traffic policy spokeswoman for the Left Group in the Hamburg Parliament, Heike Sudmann, rated the 49-euro ticket and “the Hamburg variants such as social discounts, special school tickets and semester tickets” as good “upheaval in the tariff jungle”. “The success of the €9 ticket has shown everyone how important price is when choosing eco-friendly transportation. That’s why we have to move on to free public transport for everyone,” says Sudmann. The consequential costs of car traffic and the climate crisis also justify high investments in buses and trains. “Only attractive and ultimately free offers in the HVV make the urgently needed exit from the majority of car traffic possible.”
The transport policy spokesman for the CDU parliamentary group, Richard Seelmaecker, also called the price reductions “very gratifying”. But: “Even now, Hamburg can only create these price structures with the help of the federal government; this could not be achieved on its own with the budget planning under Senator Dressel and Mayor Tschentscher.” It remains questionable how many companies can actually make the additional payments for their employees and how funding will continue after 2025.
“Everything on shares” is the daily stock exchange shot from the WELT business editorial team. Every morning from 7 a.m. with our financial journalists. For stock market experts and beginners. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music and Deezer. Or directly via RSS feed.
