Technical University of Munich: A little over 50 euros acceptable for 9 Euro Ticket successor
The experimental “9 Euro Ticket” general transit pass has run its course and the calls for a successor pass are growing. A study conducted by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) accompanied more than 2000 people during the 9 Euro Ticket trial period, interviewing them on a regular basis. In addition to questions on mobility behavior, information on the price which the participants were willing to pay for a follow-up pass also played an important role.
According to German federal government information, approximately 52 million 9 Euro Tickets were sold throughout Germany in the period from June to August. The 9 Euro Ticket allows unlimited travel on local public transit and certain interregional trains anywhere in Germany. But how much is the public prepared to pay for a follow-up model of the general transit pass? An additional interim report from the study “Mobilität.Leben” (“Live Mobility”) by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Munich School of Public Policy (HfP) has an answer. Study participants in the Munich metropolitan region would be willing to pay an average of 52.39 euros for a comparable follow-up pass. The amount is slightly higher than the 47.74 euro average determined by a national survey. Here the willingness to pay depended primarily on the financial situation of the individual participant. Those with higher incomes would consider paying as much as 15 euros more per month than those with lower incomes, according to the findings of a research group led by Prof. Klaus Bogenberger and Dr. Allister Loder of the TUM Professorship for Traffic Engineering and Control.
Frequent automobile use not a reason to pay less
One fascinating result: The frequent use of a car is apparently not a predictor of reluctance to pay more for the successor to the 9 Euro Ticket. There was no difference in willingness to pay among frequent car users compared to the average of survey participants. But the picture is somewhat different for people who already made frequent use of public transit before the 9 Euro Ticket, where the willingness to pay was almost 18 euros per month higher than for other groups of survey participants. Thus the study generally demonstrates the 49 euro monthly price for a successor ticket currently under discussion is very close to what the general public would be willing to pay on average.
Approximately 9 percent of participants increased their use of local public transportation services
Another important aspect of the TUM study on the 9 Euro Ticket is the change in the number of trips made by car versus trips made using local public transportation services. Here 8.6 percent of those surveyed indicated that they traveled more by bus and train than by private car. And for those individuals who made a car trip at least four days a week, the figure was even 18 percent.
App data and final report to follow
The current third interim report illustrates new aspects which were not covered in the previous report, issued in July 2022. However, the final findings of the study will not be available for several more weeks. The research team is currently evaluating data on actual mobility behavior collected by a smartphone app using live tracking; this data is a necessary prerequisite for the final and complete presentation of the study’s results. The recently founded TUM Think Tank will then discuss the results with the public at large and will formulate recommendations for action for politics, business and society.