Wiesbaden (dpa) – Conveying 10.2 billion passengers, scheduled bus and train services in Germany were not yet able to regain their pre-pandemic levels last year. The number of passengers constituted an increase of 29 percent compared to 2021, which was even more affected by the pandemic, as the Federal Statistical Office reported. Despite the popular 9-euro ticket that was on offer for three months in the summer, the figure still fell 14 percent short of the pre-crisis level, however.
Costing 49 euros, the “Germany ticket” – the successor to the 9-euro ticket – is intended to lastingly increase the attractiveness of local public transport from this May. The official figures also include long-distance passengers. In 2022, long-distance trains carried 138 million passengers, 62 percent more than in the previous year. 7.5 million passengers on scheduled long-distance coaches even constituted an increase of 163 percent.