The Deutschlandticket is set to become more expensive: The price will rise to €66.80 per month from January 1, 2027, the Bavarian Ministry of Transport announced on Wednesday. Bavaria currently holds the chair of the Conference of Transport Ministers. “The basis for the €3.80 price adjustment compared with 2026 is personnel, energy and general costs,” the ministry said. The Deutschlandticket currently costs €63. Environmental organisations strongly criticised the price increase.
According to the ministry, the basis for calculating the price increase is the price index agreed by the Conference of Transport Ministers, which is “weighted in detail and determined using a formula with a reference date.” The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) said the price index provides “more transparency and predictability for our customers and for the industry.”
VDV President Ingo Wortmann pointed to rising costs. “We understand that a price increase can be painful for some passengers at a time of rising consumer prices,” he said. However, general increases in costs were also “hitting transport companies hard.” They could not absorb these additional costs. “Since the federal government and the states are keeping their subsidies at a total of three billion euros per year, the increases in costs must be offset through the ticket price,” he said.
Environmental protection organisations strongly criticised the price increase. “The announcement of another price increase comes at the wrong time,” said Jens Hilgenberg, head of transport policy at BUND, on Wednesday. “It is unacceptable that the federal government is making €2.5 billion in taxpayers’ money available for another fuel discount, but cannot manage to keep the Deutschlandticket price stable.”
The federal government has once again introduced a fuel discount to provide relief for motorists hit by high fuel prices. The tax reduction of around 17 cents per litre will take effect on Thursday and will be limited to three months.
The German Nature Conservation Association (Nabu) also criticised what it described as an imbalance. “Billions can quickly be mobilised for a fuel discount,” said Pauline Schur, Nabu’s team leader for climate and transport. “But when it comes to affordable public transport, it is precisely the people who use buses and trains who are expected to dig even deeper into their pockets.”
Greenpeace mobility expert Marissa Reiserer described the decision as “the wrong priorities.” The Deutschlandticket could help reduce the consumption of oil and gas, she said, but it must remain affordable. “Anyone who wants to provide targeted relief quickly should urgently introduce a social ticket,” she said. “Unlike the fuel discount, that would also reach the right people in full.”
Julia Verlinden, deputy chairwoman of the Greens parliamentary group in the Bundestag, said it was “impossible to explain to people in this country” why the cost of travelling by train was being increased “at a time of dramatically high fuel prices.” She called for a “price cap of €49 for the Deutschlandticket subscription and free travel for children.”
Vinzenz Glaser, transport policy spokesman for the Left Party in the Bundestag, described the increase as “a kick in the stomach for everyone travelling on public transport in an environmentally friendly way.” He called for the return of the €9 ticket. He also demanded that “school students, trainees, pensioners and students should be able to travel for free.”
The Deutschlandticket will cost €66.80 per month from January 2027, up from €63. Watch the video below to see why the fare is increasing and how environmental groups and politicians are responding.
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