Two Months Deutschlandticket: Every Fourth Person (24.8 per cent) Uses Online Tickets for Public Transport

20.2 per cent rely on digital tickets, 14.1 per cent on digital cinema tickets
A total of 45.4 per cent use online tickets on their smartphone at all
Online tickets are the basis for data platforms that intelligently control traffic flows with the help of AI, for example, and thus save CO2

Since 1 May, around 11 million Deutschlandticket subscriptions have been sold, according to the German-language Association of German Transport Companies (VDV). The Deutschlandticket (subscription-based public transport ticket for the entire Germany) is basically offered digitally – however, a short-term solution for paper tickets is still effective until 31 December. In fact, only one in four Germans currently uses digital public transport tickets on a smartphone. In urban areas and among younger people, they are much more widespread. For example, 44.8 per cent of 18-29 year-olds use digital tickets. These are the results of a Civey survey commissioned by eco – Association of the Internet Industry.

Other online tickets have not yet become widely accepted. For flights, 20.2 per cent of Germans use tickets on their smartphones, and 14.1 per cent have cinema tickets on their mobile phones. Only a few attend theatres and sporting events with tickets on their smartphones (7.2 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively). Overall, around one in two Germans (45.4 per cent) regularly use online tickets.

Incentives for online tickets and data sharing

“Having tickets with you on your mobile phone when travelling or during your leisure time is convenient and saves paper,” states eco Managing Director Alexander Rabe. Another advantage of online tickets in public transport is that transport service providers can improve their services with the help of usage data. “Service and data platforms could optimally manage traffic flows with the help of artificial intelligence,” Rabe adds. “This helps to optimise mobility services, reduce costs and ultimately save CO2.

To further encourage people to use online tickets, it is important to place greater emphasis on communicating the advantages related to climate protection and cost savings. It is also necessary to promote the acceptance and willingness of users to share data with the stakeholders involved in compliance with the legal framework. “The sensible linking and smart evaluation of the growing amounts of data is the key to innovation and sustainable growth,” said Rabe. However, numerous unanswered questions regarding the use of data in an economic context led to an innovation backlog.