The conference in Hohenschwangau removed the NRW and Hamburg motion by majority vote, reportedly because it was submitted too late before the meeting.
Smartphone-registered trips would be billed at the cheapest tariff, with monthly costs not exceeding the Deutschlandticket's 63 euros at present.
Christian Bernreiter said there was no money for additional services, with billions of euros already missing, for example for regional trains.
Transport minister Grant Hendrik Tonne (SPD) said Lower Saxony views a 'D-Ticket light' positively in principle.
North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg wanted a nationwide electronic ticket for people who use buses and trains only now and then. A smartphone would record the start and end of each journey, and the app would calculate the cheapest fare automatically. Riders would not pay more in a month than they would for a regular Deutschlandticket. The model is modelled on the eezy.nrw offer already running in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The motion was taken off the agenda of the two-day conference in Hohenschwangau in Bavaria. Bayerischer Rundfunk reported, citing participants, that the removal was decided by majority vote because the motion had been submitted too late before the meeting. Regional sources told dpa the same. For now, the states will not officially take up the idea.
Oliver Krischer, NRW transport minister (Greens), criticised the decision in a statement to dpa:
“It is regrettable that the SPD and CDU did not want to face the discussions on a nationwide occasional fare for public transport.”
Krischer said the motion had been filed on time and was urgent, and that the topic should return to the agenda at the next conference.
Christian Bernreiter (CSU), Bavaria's transport minister and current chair of the conference, opposed the plan before the meeting. He said there was no money for it, and Bavaria is currently fighting for more funds from the federal government. Billions of euros were already missing, for example for ordering regional trains. Bernreiter said the Deutschlandticket was already a very good offer, and that he saw neither federal approval nor the unanimity of the states that the plan would need.
“We are short of money everywhere. It is not the time for additional services.”
Lower Saxony's transport minister Grant Hendrik Tonne (SPD) took a more open line and said the state views the proposal positively in principle.
“We will discuss a D-Ticket light constructively.”
The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) rejected the idea. Its managing director for public local transport, Alexander Möller, warned that such an offer would cause costs and undermine the logic of the Deutschlandticket, which had succeeded as a flat rate on a monthly cancellable subscription. He added that the industry has no money for it. The passenger association Pro Bahn and social organisations, by contrast, welcomed the idea as cheaper mobility for poorer citizens.
The Deutschlandticket currently costs 63 euros a month, and it is set to rise to 66.80 euros from the turn of the year. Under the proposed system, occasional riders would pay the sum of their individual trips, with the monthly bill capped at the full ticket price. Trips would be registered per smartphone and settled at the end of each month.
Data from the article text
The decision on the motion has been pushed back. The proposed working group would have developed a concept for the new ticketing system, with a decision planned for autumn 2027.
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North Rhine-Westphalia and Hamburg wanted a per-trip ticket for occasional riders, but the proposal was taken off the agenda of the transport ministers' conference in Hohenschwangau, Bavaria.
AI text based on reports by Spiegel Online, Süddeutsche Zeitung, DIE WELT and other publishers. Published .