https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/30/germanys-9-train-tickets-scheme-saved-18m-tons-of-co2-emissions [p] Skip to main contentSkip to navigation Advertisement US edition[ ] * US edition * UK edition * Australia edition * International edition The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian: news website of the year Search jobs Sign in Search [ ] * News * Opinion * Sport * Culture * Lifestyle ShowMoreShow More * [ ]News + US news + World news + Environment + Soccer + US politics + Business + Tech + Science + Newsletters + Fight to vote * [ ]Opinion + The Guardian view + Columnists + Letters + Opinion videos + Cartoons * [ ]Sport + Soccer + NFL + Tennis + MLB + MLS + NBA + NHL + F1 * [ ]Culture + Film + Books + Music + Art & design + TV & radio + Stage + Classical + Games * [ ]Lifestyle + Fashion + Food + Recipes + Love & sex + Home & garden + Health & fitness + Family + Travel + Money + Make a contribution + Subscribe * + Search jobs + Digital Archive + Guardian Puzzles app + Guardian content licensing site + The Guardian app + Video + Podcasts + Pictures + Inside the Guardian + Guardian Weekly + Crosswords * + Facebook + Twitter * + Search jobs + Digital Archive + Guardian Puzzles app + Guardian content licensing site * World * Europe * US * Americas * Asia * Australia * Middle East * Africa * Inequality * Global development Germany Germany's EUR9 train tickets scheme 'saved 1.8m tons of CO2 emissions' A fifth of the 52m tickets sold were bought by people who did not ordinarily use public transport Passengers wait on a platform in Kratzeburg beside a regional train to Rostock [ ] Passengers wait on a platform in Kratzeburg beside a regional train to Rostock. Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters Passengers wait on a platform in Kratzeburg beside a regional train to Rostock. Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters Kate Connolly in Berlin Tue 30 Aug 2022 11.28 EDTLast modified on Tue 30 Aug 2022 16.33 EDT * * * Germany's three-month experiment with EUR9 tickets for a month's unlimited travel on regional train networks, trams and buses saved about 1.8m tons of CO[2] emissions, it has been claimed. Since its introduction on 1 June to cut fuel consumption and relieve a cost of living crisis, about 52m tickets have been sold, a fifth of these to people who did not ordinarily use public transport. The scheme is due to end on Wednesday. The Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), which carried out the research, said the number of people who switched from cars to public transport as a result of the EUR9 ticket was behind the saving in emissions. "The popularity of the EUR9 tickets had been unabated and the positive effect on it in tackling climate change is verifiable," the VDV said. It said the emissions saved were equivalent to the powering of 350,000 homes, and a similar drop would be seen over the period of a year if Germany introduced a speed limit on its motorways. A typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 tons of carbon a year. Olaf Scholz, the chancellor, who has come under fire for what some have interpreted as a nonchalant attitude towards Germany's fuel price surge and steep rise in the cost of living in recent months, has lapped up praise for the scheme, calling the EUR9 ticket "our best idea yet". The scheme is also believed to have helped keep inflation, currently at about 8%, slightly lower than it otherwise would have been. Not only did passengers praise the cheapness of the scheme, they revelled in its simplicity, as it cut through swathes of complication ranging from myriad transport zones to ticket categories that differ greatly from region to region. Just over 37% of people who bought the ticket used it to get to work, 50% used it for everyday journeys such as to go shopping or visit the doctor, 40% used it to visit people, and 33% used it for day trips. "I've travelled from Bavaria in the south to Rostock in the north and seen places I might never otherwise have bothered to visit," Ronald Schenck, 80, told a regional broadcaster. "It's saved me a fortune and I've had a lot of fun." The government and regional administrations are under huge pressure to continue the ticket in some form. The expectation is that any replacement would be priced at least six times higher, but surveys show enthusiasm for such a scheme is high. Sign up to Down to Earth Free weekly newsletter The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. According to Germany's federal environment agency, the environmental damage resulting from one ton of CO[2] emissions is worth about EUR180. This calculation will be used as an argument as to why the government should continue to subsidise a cheap public transport scheme in future, campaigners have said, after some officials said it was too expensive to continue it at a time of soaring living costs. But critics have cited overcrowded trains, and passengers often not being able to bring bikes onboard, as reasons not to repeat the scheme. There are also concerns that if cheap tickets continue there will be less money available to boost transport networks, which are particularly poor in rural areas, with interconnectivity between independent services sometimes non-existent. Ticket sales in rural areas were the lowest, which it is thought owed to the poor availability of public transport there. VDV carried out about 6,000 interviews a week - in total, about 78,000 - with passengers across the country, in conjunction with the national rail carrier Deutsche Bahn and the marketing research organisations Forsa and RC Research. 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