After the end of the 9-euro ticket Long lines at the SWB public transport service center

Bonn · After the end of the 9-euro ticket, people have been lining up at the SWB public transport service center in search of alternatives. Language barriers have slowed down some of the transactions. This is the current situation as passengers and politicians try to figure out what comes next.

Long lines of customers waiting at the SWB service center at Bonn Central Station.

Long lines of customers waiting at the SWB service center at Bonn Central Station.

Foto: Benjamin Westhoff

The queues in front of the service centers of Stadtwerke Bus und Bahn (SWB) have been remarkably long in recent days. On Thursday, the first day after the 9-euro ticket expired, that was also the case. At the ticket and information center in the Cassius-Bastei near Bonn Central Station, people were already standing 20 meters outside the door in the morning, and by midday that was the case again.

Christian Schmitz and his companion reached the middle of the line after about 20 minutes. "Fortunately, I'm not dependent on a monthly ticket, but she is," he said, pointing to the woman accompanying him, who spoke no German. That seemed to be true of many here. "I guess they just have one interpreter in there, that's why it takes so long," Schmitz explained. Another SWB customer, who did not want to be named, had inquired for a family member about what regular long-term passes would be possible as a follow-up solution since the 9-euro monthly pass expired. The answer received on location was "rather unsatisfactory": if he were to subscribe for a pass now, he would first have to wait for a two-week processing time. "But how do I bridge the time until then?" the man asked.

Responding to an inquiry, Stadtwerke spokeswoman Silke Elbern said: "In the last week before the deadline, August 31, after which the 9-euro ticket was discontinued, we have experienced a very high influx of spontaneous passengers in the service centers of SWB Bus and Bahn." Many customers had apparently hoped for a follow-up solution from the federal government or the state and had therefore waited a long time before buying a monthly ticket. SWB went on to say that the rush of customers has been high since the beginning of the week. "With the change of the month, the utilization is going down again," Elbern said.

In fact, to complete a regular subscription, which begins with the handing out of a chip card, it usually requires a few weeks of processing time at the transport companies in the Rhine-Sieg Transport Association (VRS), as VRS spokesman Benjamin Jeschor told the GA. At the same time, however, there are alternative monthly and weekly tickets to bridge this time. "Those who want to get their ticket faster can use the usual digital sales channels via the SWB easy.GO app or buy the tickets at the vending machine," Elbern explained. Monthly tickets with a Bonn ID card are also available at the vending machines or other advance sales points, she added. Monthly tickets without a Bonn ID discount are also available via the app.

The employees of the Stadtwerke in the service centers are not only concerned with the follow-up solutions for former 9-euro ticket holders. "In addition, both in the customer centers and in the applications submitted digitally, many Bonn ID card holders want to obtain the Sozialticket (for low-income people) as a subscription in the short term," Elbern said. A large proportion of these applicants are Ukrainian refugees who rarely know English or German. The service transaction takes a lot of time, he said, because in many cases communication takes place via a cell phone translator.

A cheaper Sozialticket for Bonn ID card holders has been available in Bonn for a long time. After a political decision of the council coalition of Greens, SPD, Left and Volt before the summer break, this monthly ticket dropped to 19 euros as of September 1. On the question of when the city completed the binding contracts for the new Sozialticket, it was not possible to get an answer on Thursday.

Referring to the 9-euro ticket and lack of a follow-up solution, Andrea Schulte from the press office said, "The possible follow-up financing of the 9-euro ticket is a nationwide issue that has to be clarified between the federal government and the state. It is not an issue that a municipality decides in cooperation with the transport companies." In the supervisory board of SWB Bus und Bahn, which is chaired by Mayor Katja Dörner, a 69-euro ticket has been discussed. But the decisions on this are not made in Bonn.

Orig. text: Anton Dieckhoff, Philipp Königs

Translation: ck

Meistgelesen
Neueste Artikel
Zum Thema
Aus dem Ressort